The Daughter of a Saiyan
by SandraSmit19
Summary: The story of Son Chiara. AU. Non Canon, if applicable. Not a Mary Sue.
1. Chapter 1: Where It All Began

Title: The Daughter of a Saiyan.

Category: Dragonball Z/GT.

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings: As this story has an original female character in it, it is obviously Alternate Universe. In effect, it is also Non-Canon, if such a thing applies to an animated series. Whether or not Chiara is a Mary-Sue is a matter of opinion, but if she is, then she is, and I will not change that. I've tried to make Chiara as realistic as possible. This means that you're not always going to like her, you'll probably want to strangle her sometimes, but I think on the whole she's an alright person.

Each chapter will have individual warnings, telling you what to expect of each chapter. The length of each chapter varies. Sometimes it'll be a very short chapter, other times it'll be longer.

Notes: Any and all explanations can be found at the end of each chapter. I have grown to abhor author's notes in my own stories, but I can't just leave everything unexplained, so I'm forced to use them as I refuse to put notes _in_ my story.

In closing I want to say that I had intended to write this story while following the dialogue of the episodes, but have now decided against it. For one thing it would become too much of an insert, as if it isn't already, and for another, it is extremely tedious to have to write down the exact dialogue of the series since I have to get it from the episodes I've taped. So while this story will follow the actual storylines with few exceptions, I wont be using the original dialogue. Up until the point where Radditz shows up at the Kame House is almost all actual dialogue from the dubbed series.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence, kidnapping, and cruelty towards children near the end.

Radditz Saga:

_Chapter I: Where It All Began._

It was the 15th of May in the year 757 A.D when on a sunny afternoon Son Goku and Son ChiChi became the proud parents of very healthy and very loud twins. They were unidentical twins, as they were a boy and a girl, but looked very much alike nonetheless. The boy was named after his paternal grandfather, and he was called Son Gohan. The girl was named after her maternal grandmother, and she was called Son Chiara.

_761 A.D. October the 12th._

"Gohan, Chiara, it's time to come in," ChiChi called, standing just outside the Son house. "Gohan."

While ChiChi called for Gohan and Chiara, Goku was leaping around in the woods looking for a tree that would make for some good firewood.

"Ah," he said, smiling up at a huge tree. "This one oughta do."

He pulled back his fist and let it connect with the tree, which promptly came down. ChiChi, in the mean time, was still looking for her two children.

"Chiara," she called, before smiling as she saw her husband coming. "Oh. Hey, Goku, do you think you've got enough firewood there?"

Goku dropped the tree to the ground and said, "Yeah, I guess that oughta do, don't you think?"

ChiChi sighed and worriedly said, "You're gonna hurt yourself doing that one of these days."

"Ah, I'm fine. Where are Gohan and Chiara?" Goku asked.

"I don't know," ChiChi said, a little worried as she glanced around. "But you better go and find them, because you three are supposed to be at Master Roshi's pretty soon."

"Oh yeah," Goku said with a smile. "That's right."

"You better take the flying Nimbus," ChiChi said. "You don't wanna be late for your reunion."

"Okay, bye, ChiChi," Goku called, as he ran off.

"Goku, be careful," ChiChi called after him. "Uh, all this worrying is going to give me wrinkles."

Goku went to find Gohan and found him sitting on a branch, clutching it for dear life.

"Help me," he cried. "I'm stuck up here, help, please."

He stopped crying out when he saw his daddy in front of him, sitting on the flying Nimbus. The little boy was freed from his 'predicament', they went to find little Chiara.

Chiara, in the mean time, was sitting at the side of a pond. She knew better than to get so close really, but she had always been curious where water was concerned. She leaned forward and reached out to the water surface with her little hand, when suddenly she heard someone calling her name.

She giggled as she darted behind a boulder. Her daddy was looking for her, but she wouldn't let him find her. Goku and Gohan landed nearby. Gohan stayed on Nimbus, while Goku got off to look for his daughter. Chiara giggled again as she heard her father's heavy footsteps getting closer.

"Now," Goku said with a smile on his face as he looked at the two small feet sticking out from behind the boulder. "Where did Chiara go?"

Chiara giggled again as she continued to hide. Gohan, who was still sitting on the Nimbus, had a big smile on his face. He knew where Chiara was, but he wouldn't tell. Goku crossed his arms over his chest, his smile widening as he thought of just the thing to get her to come out of hiding.

"Well, I guess Gohan and I will have to go to Master Roshi's with just the two of us."

A small gasp came from behind the boulder, and a small black-haired girl jumped from behind it and into her father's waiting arms.

"No," Chiara cried, tears rising as she clutched her daddy, "I wanna go too."

Goku chuckled gently as he hugged his little girl to his chest. "It's okay, sweetheart, I wasn't really going to leave without you. Hey, no tears now, okay?"

Chiara sniffed as she looked at her daddy, and nodded. Goku gently ruffled her hair, before walking to the flying Nimbus cloud. He scooped Gohan up into his other arm and sat down on the cloud. Both the Son children laughed and whooped as Nimbus took off at full speed. It was a fun ride for all three of them and soon they arrived on the small island that held the Kame House.

Goku jumped off Nimbus, who didn't stick around, with both half Saiyans cradled in his arms.

There was a small helicopter standing in front of the house, and Chiara marvelled over it as Goku walked to the house. Chiara wriggled in Goku's arms, trying to get him to put her down. With a confused look on his face, Goku put her down and watched her hesitantly make her way to the small chopper. He smiled at the sight, thinking it could do no harm, before calling out to anyone who might be inside.

"Hey, is anyone home?" Goku called.

The door to the small house opened and revealed Master Roshi, Krillin and Bulma. They all greeted Goku warmly before noticing Gohan.

"Hey, who's the kid?" Bulma asked.

"Goku babysitting?" Krillin quipped. "Well, I'll be darned."

Goku threw Gohan a fond look and said, "He's my son."

Jaws dropped as they looked at Gohan in amazement.

"Pretty wild, huh?" Goku said as he put Gohan down.

"Wauw," Krillin said, agreeing with Goku.

"And that's not all, he's one of two," Goku said proudly.

"Two?" Krillin questioned.

"You have another child?" Bulma asked.

"Yeah, she's right over there," Goku said, pointing at Chiara, who was carefully touching the side of the chopper, a smile appearing on her face. "Chiara."

Chiara startled and stepped away from the chopper, only to trip and fall hard on her backside. Gohan cried out, and quickly ran to his twin's side. As he helped her up, the others looked on with smiles on their faces.

"Oh, Goku, they're adorable," Bulma said.

Goku nodded with a smile, "Hey, you two, come and say hi."

Gohan and Chiara walked over to their daddy, Chiara's cheeks wet with a few tears. She quickly dried them as they stood next to their father.

"Now, say hi." Goku said to his children.

"Hello, everybody," Gohan said, bowing to them all.

"Hello," Chiara said shyly, bowing as well.

Master Roshi, Krillin and Bulma bowed back.

"These are Gohan and Chiara," Goku said.

"Gohan?" Roshi repeated. "I see, you named him after your grandfather."

"You're right," Goku said.

"What about Chiara?" Krillin asked. "Where does her name come from?"

"ChiChi's mother," Goku said.

Krillin nodded in understanding as Bulma knelt in front of Gohan.

"Hey, Gohan," she cooed. "How old are you?"

"Eh... Four and a half," Gohan said, holding up five chubby digits.

"Then you must be four and a half as well, huh?" Bulma asked Chiara with a smile.

Chiara nodded from where she stood, half hidden by her father's leg. "Gohan's older."

"Ah, he was born first," Bulma said in understanding.

Chiara nodded before shyly hiding her face in the fabric of her father's pant leg. Bulma chuckled softly before turning to Gohan again, but addressing them both.

"And are you gonna be brave fighters just like your dad?" she cooed, gently ruffling Gohan's hair.

"ChiChi doesn't let them train." Goku said.

"Oh," Bulma said. "No Martial Arts, huh?. What _do_ you wanna be when you grow up, Gohan?"

"A orthopedist," Gohan said.

"Wauw," Bulma said. "An orthopedist, hm."

Turtle, in the mean time, was coming closer to Gohan and Gohan shied away.

"He's just saying hi, Gohan," Goku said.

Gohan looked at Turtled curiously, and Bulma suddenly noticed his tail.

"A tail?" she said.

"Yeah, he was born with it, they both were. Just like me," Goku said. "I think he wants you to pet him, Gohan."

Gohan smiled and petted Turtle happily.

"Oh, man," Bulma said as she got up, still caught up by the tails. "Goku, has anything strange ever happened to Gohan or Chiara at night?"

"What do you mean?" Goku asked.

Roshi stood next to Goku, "She means have Gohan or Chiara ever looked at the moon at night when it's full?" he said.

"I don't think so," Goku said, thinking for a moment. "No, we all go to bed pretty early."

Gohan was happily riding Turtle while Chiara made her way to the waterside. Goku checked on Chiara to make sure she wasn't going to near to the water and when he saw she stayed at a distance, he was satisfied.

"Why?" he asked, returning to what they had been talking about.

"Why?. Why you say?" Roshi laughed nervously. "No reason, I was just kidding around."

"They're alot different than you were when you were a kid, Goku," Krillin commented as Gohan ran to where Chiara sat, playing in the sand.

"I know," Goku said, almost wistfully. "ChiChi's pretty protective of them. She makes them study all the time and she says that Martial Arts are a waste of energy."

Gohan played Rock, Paper, Scissors with a crab while Chiara sidled closer to the water.

"Oh yeah?. Well, what does that make us then?" Krillin asked.

"Huh?" Goku said, turning his attention to Krillin.

"Now, now, settle down, boys," Roshi soothed. "You can't expect everyone to agree with what you're doing. It would be all too easy then."

Gohan won the game with the crab and got sprayed, making Roshi laugh and Goku smile until Goku saw Chiara all but in the water from the corner of his eye.

"Watch out, he might pinch you, Gohan," Roshi said laughingly, as Goku made his way to Chiara. "That crab is a sore loser."

Gohan laughed as he ran back to them while Chiara reached her small hand into the water and towards the glittering object she saw in it. She almost caught hold of it when she felt the sand underneath the hand supporting her shift and fall away. She cried out as she fell forward and closed her eyes, waiting for the water to swallow her. She suddenly felt herself getting lifted up into the air and away from the water. When she turned her head she saw her daddy looking at her with a disapproving look on his face.

"Now, what did daddy tell you about going too close to the water?" Goku asked.

Chiara swallowed hard and whispered, "You said not to."

"That's right. And there's a reason for that, you can't swim yet, and if you fall in, you could... get hurt," Goku scolded, not wanting to say drown.

Krillin, Roshi and Bulma looked on as Goku scolded Chiara, Gohan playing at Bulma's feet.

"And he says ChiChi is protective," Krillin commented with a smile.

Goku made his way back to his friends, his daughter cradled in his arms. He put Chiara down next to Gohan, and smiled at them both.

"Oh, how neat," Bulma suddenly said. "That's a real dragonball on your hat," she said to Gohan, before she turned to Goku. "Isn't it?"

"Yep, it was my grandfather's, I've been collecting them for fun," Goku said.

"Isn't Chiara upset that Gohan has it?" Bulma asked.

"Oddly enough no. She doesn't like the dragonballs very much," Goku said with a small frown. "When she first saw a dragonball as a baby, it made her cry. Now she just turns away from it, she won't even hold it."

"That _is_ odd," Bulma mused thoughtfully.

"Gohan loves the dragonball, he wants to see the dragon but he'll have to give his up," Goku said.

Gohan scowled at that as he clutched his little hat.

"Wauw," Bulma said with a smile. "It's wild to think of all the things that we went through together trying to find those dragonballs."

"Yeah, really," Krillin agreed, picking up a stone. "Hey, Goku, so what are you guys gonna wish for when you get 'm all?" He then threw the stone over the surface of the water.

"I don't know, Krillin. That's a good question," Goku said, also picking up a stone. "Come to think of it, I don't really want anything."

Goku threw his stone, much further than Krillin, and with much more power. "Wauw," Bulma breathed.

'_Hm,' _Roshi thought. '_I thought Goku had less power now that he's settled down.'_

"Heh," Krillin said with a smirk. "You're still one bad dude, Goku."

Goku smiled before suddenly tensing.

"What is it?" Krillin asked.

"Huh?" Gohan said as both he and his sister looked up at their daddy.

"What, Goku?" Roshi asked apprehensively.

"Man, something is heading straight for us," Goku said, a scowl on his face.

"What?" Bulma gasped. "Are you sure, Goku?"

"I'm positive," Goku said. "I've never felt a power like this before."

"I feel it now too," Krillin said grimly.

"There's nothing there, you guys," Bulma said, crossing her arms.

The wind suddenly picked up and the air around them seemed to change.

"What is it?" Goku said anxiously. "I've never felt anything this powerful. It's a horrible power too. I'm trembling. Impossible."

"There, there," Roshi cried anxiously, pointing at the horizon. "Oh, I see it, Goku."

"It can't be Piccolo," Krillin said, shielding his eyes with his hand to try and see.

"This isn't good," Roshi muttered, as the new threat came closer and closer.

Suddenly a very large man with long spiky hair landed on the island. Gohan and Chiara quickly stepped behind their father as Bulma, Roshi and Krillin took a step back. The obviously powerful man laughed as he looked at Goku.

"So we meet again at last," The man said in a deep and sinister voice.

Goku growled as both he and Krillin crouched down into a fighting stance. Gohan and Chiara were standing behind Goku as Bulma and Roshi stayed at what they hoped would be a safe distance.

"Who are you?" Goku demanded.

"Who am I?" the man repeated, a frown now replacing his smirk. "What is the meaning of this, Kakkarot?. Why hasn't this planet been cleared?"

"My name is Son Goku, and I don't know anything about clearing any planet," Goku said firmly.

"Son Goku?" the man said in disbelief. "I don't believe this. Stop this at once, Kakkarot, and answer my question."

"I don't know anyone called Kakkarot, I'm not clearing anything, and I think you need to leave," Goku said, his voice still firm.

The man seemed to be carved in stone as Goku said this, before the scowl on his face returned.

"Kakkarot, listen to me. Were you ever knocked on the head when you were a child?" he asked.

"What if I was?" Goku demanded, not relaxing in the slightest.

"What if you were?" the man yelled in fury. "You fool, you went and forgot who you truly are." The man calmed down and crossed his massive arms over his broad chest. "Well, I'll remind you. Your true name, as you know by now, is Kakkarot, and you are my younger brother."

"What?" Krillin cried.

"Impossible," Goku exclaimed.

"I assure you it is quite possible. My name is Radditz and I was sent to this planet to see why it was taking you so long to clear it for use. Now I see what has happened," Radditz said. "You have lost your memory and lived here ever since."

"What do you want?" Goku asked, his voice harsh.

"I want you to join me, Kakkarot, join me so that we may clear this planet now," Radditz said.

Bulma, Roshi and Krillin gasped in shock, as Goku growled.

"I will have nothing to do with your schemes," Goku all but yelled.

Radditz growled and clenched his fists, when he suddenly turned his attention to the two children trying to hide behind Goku. He had seen something. He moved faster than any of them could see, and snatched the small tail, bringing a screaming four year old high into the air.

"Let her go," Goku yelled, before attacking Radditz.

Radditz dropped a still screaming Chiara onto the ground, where she landed harshly, and Gohan rushed to her side as Goku and Krillin fought Radditz with all they had. Even combined the two were no match for the hardened Saiyan warrior, and both were thrown aside. Radditz turned to where he had dropped the girl and noticed Gohan, who had curled himself around his sister, trying to shield her body with his own.

"Two of them," Radditz muttered as he snatched both toddlers up by their collars. "The fool has mated with a human. No matter, they will serve me well."

"Leave them alone, you monster," Bulma yelled, still at a distance. "They're only babies."

Radditz ignored Bulma and walked to where Goku was desperately trying to get up to save his children, harshly kicking Goku in the ribs, sending him sprawling again.

"Now listen carefully, brother, I don't know what's wrong with you but you better snap out of it quick. I will give you one whole day, from now until midday tomorrow, to kill 100 humans, or the next time you see your brats, you'll have to piece them together before you can bury them."

Goku continued to try and get up as Radditz sneered, "It's high time these two knew their uncle anyway."

Radditz laughed and took off, leaving a beaten and angry Goku and Krillin, and a shocked and scared Bulma and Master Roshi.

It wasn't long before Yajirobe showed up with senzu beans to heal Goku and Krillin. Goku was furious and he swore he would get his children back without ever harming any humans, but how?.

That was when the unexpected happened, Piccolo showed up. And for once he wasn't interested in fighting Goku...yet. He wanted to know who Radditz was and what he was doing on Earth. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to defeat Radditz separately, Goku and Piccolo grudgingly decided to work together.

In the mean time Radditz had taken Gohan and Chiara to where his pod had landed. He locked Gohan in the pod, but kept Chiara with him.

"Now, for a little entertainment." He grinned before slapping Chiara across the face.

She landed hard on her stomach and sobbed in pain as she tried to push herself up. She cried out when she was pulled up by her hair and whirled around.

"Who's gonna save you now, little girl?" Radditz mocked as he held her up by her hair.

Chiara cried and struggled as she tried to pry Radditz' hand from her hair. Gohan screamed and cried as he was forced to watch. He didn't quite manage to burst out of the pod he was locked in.

Radditz laughed, "Not your daddy, that's for sure."

He threw her down and thought for a while of how he might be able to torture her. It came to him and he grinned down at her maliciously. Chiara sobbed as Radditz grabbed hold of her tail and very slowly and very painfully turned it inside out. Chiara screamed and Gohan screamed right along with her.

When Radditz got tired of hearing Chiara scream, he picked her up and dumped her into the pod with her brother. Chiara was crying loudly and Gohan held her, crying himself. While Gohan fussed over a nearly unconscious Chiara, Radditz turned away in disgust.

"Pathetic humans," he growled.

Not long after Goku and Piccolo showed up, having followed the dragonball on Gohan's hat, and the battle began. Goku and Piccolo fought Radditz but they were no match for him and they got pounded mercilessly. In the pod, Chiara passed out because of the pain. Gohan got very angry at Radditz for hurting his sister and burst out of the pod to attack him. The attack was short-lived but it gave Goku enough time to grab Radditz from behind and hold him so Piccolo could kill him, sacrificing his own life in the process.

Bulma, Krillin and Master Roshi had turned up during the battle and when it was all over, they mourned the loss of Goku and fussed over the twins, who were now both unconscious.

"Her tail," Bulma cried as she saw the bloody and mangled appendage "Look at her tail."

Krillin growled as he saw what Bulma meant and went to say something when a shadow fell over them. It was Piccolo. Bulma gulped and Krillin growled once more, Piccolo had been the one who killed Goku after all, no matter what the circumstances.

"What do you want?" Krillin asked. "The battle is over."

"_This_ battle is over," Piccolo growled. "But if you had been paying attention you'd know that another one is not far away."

"So we'll train, and we'll be prepared," Krillin said but Piccolo ignored him.

Bulma gasped and Krillin cried out indignantly as Piccolo snatched the two demi Saiyans off the ground.

"Hey, give them back," Bulma all but shrieked.

"Where are you taking them?" Krillin cried.

"These two are coming with me, when those two Saiyans arrive on Earth, I'm gonna need all the help I can get to defeat them," Piccolo said. "If there is any strength in these two _babies..._" He nearly spat the word. "...I'll find a way to make it come out. A year of training should be enough."

Piccolo powered up and took off, carrying Son Gohan and Son Chiara with him.

"But...but...but..." Bulma stammered as Krillin watched on helplessly.

A silence fell amongst Bulma, Krillin and Master Roshi, until Bulma exploded.

"How dare that monster just take them?" she yelled. "Now what are we going to tell ChiChi?"

"A better question would be, who's going to tell ChiChi?!" Master Roshi cut in.

Krillin was silent until he became aware that they were both looking at him.

"Me?" he cried incredulously.

"Yeah, you. Who else?" Bulma demanded, her arms crossed. "You are Goku's best friend after all."

Krillin backed up a few steps, putting his hands up, "But... _I_ don't know how to tell her."

"Well, you had best figure it out," Bulma snapped as she stalked to her helicopter. "Because she needs to know."


	2. Chapter 2: Teaching the Basics

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Only the temper of the ever charming Piccolo to beware of here.

_Chapter II: Teaching the Basics._

_761 A.D. October the 12th._

Piccolo, in the mean time, had taken both Saiyans with him to where he knew they would be able to train in peace. Not that he expected anything useful to come out of the two children. They were pampered and spoiled, weaklings sheltered by their mommy. Piccolo snorted in disgust.

'_I took them with me to train them, but I've more than likely just suckered myself into babysitting them,' _he thought irritably.

He dumped the two black-haired toddlers on the ground and resolved himself to take things one step at a time. If Radditz had been any indication of the Saiyans' strength, he would never be able to defeat them on his own. '_Now that Son Goku has gotten his fool self killed,'_ Piccolo smirked a little at that, '_it looks like these two are the only hope I've got.'_

_-----_

Gohan blinked as awareness returned to him. Slowly the memories returned and he cried out as he realized what had happened. He shot up faster than he should have and nearly fell down again, but stayed on his feet. He needed to find his sister. He glanced around and saw her, crying out again as he ran to her.

She was sitting up, looking around groggily as she tried to determine where she was. There was a terrible pain coming from somewhere. '_And I'm cold, and hungry, and...'_ Chiara's thoughts stopped when she saw Gohan, a relieved smile crossing her face, a smile that was quickly erased when she saw who was standing behind her brother. Gohan turned around and saw him as well, and they both swallowed hard at the sight of the glare on Piccolo's face.

"If you two are quite done sleeping," Piccolo ground out. "It's time to start training."

"Training?" Chiara repeated in a small voice.

"Yes, training," Piccolo snapped. "Now get up."

Chiara tried to do so but quickly fell down, and even with Gohan's help, she didn't manage to stay upright. Piccolo growled as she fell down again.

"What is the matter with you?" he barked at her.

Chiara flinched away from him, scared to death of the very large green monster standing in front of her.

"I can't get up," Chiara whimpered.

"Why not?" Piccolo ground out.

Chiara sniffed as she looked at her ruined tail, it was hurting more than she had known was possible. More than the time she had had her hand caught in the door, more even than the time she had fallen and bumped her head on the table.

Piccolo looked at Chiara's tail and when he saw the state it was in, he swore softly. '_No wonder it hurts.'_ He stepped forward, ignoring the fear on the small Saiyan girl's face, and grabbed hold of her tail. Chiara screamed as he grabbed it and wailed when he pulled it off. Gohan immediately stepped in front of her, instinctively wanting to fight Piccolo to protect his sister, although he too had started to cry.

"Shut up," Piccolo yelled.

Both children fell silent, tears still streaming down their little faces.

"The pain's gone now," Piccolo barked. "Now be quiet."

Chiara hiccuped as she contemplated her now missing tail and realized that the big green man was right. It no longer hurt. She wiped her face with her small hands and smiled slightly as she looked up at Gohan, whose tears were slowing now that his sister had stopped.

Gohan laughed slightly as he helped his sister get up, but when he let her go she fell down again. She tried again with the same result and tears rose in her eyes as she realized she couldn't get up.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked, his small face pinched with worry.

"I can't stand," Chiara whimpered.

A growl from above startled the twins and they both looked up to see Piccolo glaring down at them.

"You can stand just fine," he snapped. "Your balance is off, that's all."

He none too gently picked Chiara up and walked to the side of the cliff, closely following by a protesting Gohan.

"Hey, where are you taking her?" Gohan cried, running after them.

Piccolo ignored him and roughly placed Chiara on a small ledge.

"Stay there," Piccolo ordered, before turning away.

Gohan quickly backed away as Piccolo turned around and walked to him, a glare on his face.

"Now, let's get started," Piccolo said, the menace that dripped off his voice startling Gohan into falling backwards onto his backside.

Gohan swallowed hard before putting on a brave face. "Okay."

-----

_761 A.D. October the 14th._

Piccolo sighed in exasperation as he settled down at the campfire he had just built. Both Saiyan children were fast asleep, both recuperating, or trying to, from their training. The day had gone slightly better than Piccolo had expected it to and he knew that was all he could hope for.

The day he had brought the twins to the remote area they were now camping in, he had trained only Gohan. It had been the single most exasperating experience in Piccolo's life. The little boy had been clueless as to what Piccolo wanted, and had gotten on Piccolo's last nerve.

He had tried everything to get the boy to do something, _anything, _but it had been hopeless. He was too scared or too dumb – Piccolo thought it was probably both – to do anything. Piccolo had called it quits for the day when it started to rain, and had barked at the two of them to go to sleep after throwing them a newly made cape. They had thanked him for the cape and he had told them to shut up.

'_It wasn't a gift,' _Piccolo thought in disgust as he threw another branch on the fire. '_I just don't need them to freeze to death.'_

The twins had huddled together at the fire he had constructed as Piccolo brooded over what he had gotten himself into. As he was wondering whether he would ever get anything out of them, he was suddenly hit by a brilliant and positively evil idea, an idea that came to him when he saw Gohan trying to keep Chiara warm by sacrificing his part of the cloak.

'_So the little brat's protective instinct is that strong, huh?' _Piccolo thought with a smirk, before chuckling quietly. '_Perfect.'_

The next day he had executed his idea. Picking on Chiara to get Gohan to do something. It had worked, the boy had flown at him, and though he hadn't been able to do any damage, the attempt was enough to satisfy Piccolo. More picking on Chiara had meant another outburst from Gohan, until finally Piccolo pushed him too far and the burst of energy coming from Gohan had nearly knocked him off his feet.

Seeing he was finally getting somewhere with Gohan, Piccolo continued to train the boy throughout the day, but the next day, it was Chiara's turn. How was he going to get her to do anything?. He decided to just try and get her to do what he had wanted Gohan to do all along. '_Who knows?' _he had snorted to himself. '_The squirt might have more brains in her than her little brother.'_

The training session that followed had been slightly more satisfying than Gohan's initial session. He had told the twins to get up that morning and had told Gohan to stand back as he prepared to work with Chiara.

"Pay attention," Piccolo said gruffly. "Close your eyes and focus on your energy."

Chiara didn't quite know how to do what he told her to but she was too scared to say so, so she closed her eyes and tried to find energy inside of her.

"Raise your arm forward," Piccolo said.

"Which one?" Chiara asked softly.

"Doesn't matter," Piccolo barked, making Chiara jump.

She trembled as she raised her left arm forward and tried once more to find her energy.

"Gather your energy and channel it through your arm," Piccolo said.

"How?" Chiara asked in a trembling voice.

"You'll know how," Piccolo snapped. "Just do it."

Chiara's lip wobbled as she did as she was told and concentrated on finding her energy. She felt something change inside of her and as it spun its way through her, she lost her concentration and dropped her arm.

"What are you doing?" Piccolo demanded. "Why did you stop?"

"I got scared," Chiara sniffled. "I've never done this before."

"And you never will if you don't stop your whining," Piccolo barked.

At those words, and for the first time ever, Chiara's temper flared. "Well, if you'd stop barking at me," Chiara snapped, before clasping a hand over her mouth.

She expected Piccolo to snarl at her again, maybe even hit her, but he did neither. He just smirked and crossed his arms.

"That's the proper spirit, kid," Piccolo said quietly before yelling, "Now do as I say, raise your left arm and channel your energy through it."

Chiara spun away from Piccolo and raised her left arm. She once again found the energy inside of her and channeled it through her arm, this time hanging tough. Piccolo could feel her energylevel going up, and although it was still weak, he knew it would be substantially higher by the time they were done.

Chiara's hand started glowing and she trembled as the foreign feeling spread throughout her body but before long she had quite a large energyball in her hand.

"Good," Piccolo said approvingly. "Now release the ball into that mountain."

"Uh..." Chiara said nervously. "I don't know if I can."

Piccolo went to bark at her again but Gohan cut in.

"Don't worry, Chi, I'm right behind you. Just let it go," Gohan said.

Chiara smiled at the sound of her brother's voice and fired the ball at the mountain with all the strength she could muster. It didn't go all the way through the mountain but it left a big hole nonetheless. Chiara turned to look at Piccolo and as she gazed up at him, craning her head all the way back to be able to do so, she wondered what he was thinking. Piccolo just stared back, his expression emotionless.

"Was it any good?" Chiara asked hesitantly.

"It was good enough," Piccolo said simply. "Certainly good enough for your first energy ball."

Before long both Chiara and Gohan were practicing their energy balls and their martial arts. As they sparred with eachother, Gohan dominating for the most part, despite his efforts to be gentle with his sister, Piccolo looked on, deep in thought. '_Such a strange mixture these two are,' _Piccolo thought, '_the belly-aching of a Human, and the brutality of a Saiyan. Maybe they wont be such a waste of time after all.'_ Piccolo snorted in disgust at his own thoughts. '_Yeah, and maybe they'll actually stop whining some day.'_

-----

Note: I hope I've succeeded in portraying Piccolo properly. He's not exceptionally difficult to write, not like Vegeta is at times, but he's still a very complicated character.


	3. Chapter 3: Out in the Wild

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter III: Out in the Wild._

_761 A.D. December the 17th._

Chiara sighed as she snuggled into the cloak she and Gohan slept under, the cold hard ground no longer bothering her as much. The temperature was also okay, even though the clothes Piccolo had given them weren't as warm as the clothes they had been wearing. Piccolo insisted they wear the clothes though, as they were better for training. It had been a full month since Piccolo had left them on their own, though he was never too far away to prevent them from going home it seemed.

After an adventure that involved run away orphans, the twins had almost gone home. They had fashioned a boat and had been halfway across the lake they had to cross when Gohan suddenly stopped.

(_Flashback_)

Chiara looked at her brother in confusion. Why did he stop?. They were almost home. Almost back with their mother.

"We can't go home," Gohan said, staring ahead of him.

"Why not?" Chiara asked. '_Can't go home?. But...mommy's waiting for us.'_

"You know what mr. Piccolo said," Gohan said.

Chiara slowly nodded. "We have a job to do is what he said."

"That's right," Gohan said. "A job we have to do."

"But," Chiara said, her bottom lip wobbling. "I want to go home, I want our mommy."

"I know, Chi," Gohan said, his face sad. "So do I, but if we don't stop those bad guys coming to Earth, who will?"

And Chiara didn't have an answer to that, so they stayed. They went back into the wilderness to train, train until they dropped, not knowing Piccolo had been watching them since they had started across the lake and had listened to their every word. A rare smile appeared on his face as he watched them walk back into the bushes. '_Maybe we still have a chance,' _Piccolo mused, before disappearing into the woods himself.

(_Flashback ends_)

And so they were still there. Not that Chiara minded too much as long as her brother was there with her, she didn't know what she would have done without him. They had always been together, ever since they were born and Chiara always felt safe with her older brother, though he was only older by a few minutes.

She quickly sat up as she realized something. They had forgotten to build a fire. They _had_ to build a fire. If they didn't, not only would they be freezing by morning, nasty animals would also be able to enter their camp. Animals that would otherwise be scared off by the fire.

Chiara poked her brother in the side to try and get him to wake up. When Gohan didn't even stir, but instead snored even louder, she frowned. She went to shake him when she suddenly stopped. What did she need to wake Gohan up for?. She could build a fire by herself. A determined frown settled on her features as she nodded. Yes, she could.

She got up and walked into the woods to gather wood for the fire. She collected a few small branches and a few big ones before heading for the spot where they had built a fire every night for the past month. She set the new branches and bent over to clear the old ones away when she heard a sound in the woods behind her.

She stopped dead in her track before she slowly straightened. She peeked over her shoulder to try and see what it was, but all she saw was darkness. She stood still for a little while longer before she finally relaxed. '_It was just your imagination, Chi, don't get spooked now.'_

She went back to building a fire when suddenly the sound came again, this time louder and closer. She whirled around and prepared herself to face an enemy but there was nothing. She looked around, her heart pounding madly in her chest, her small fists clenched.

'_That wasn't my imagination,' _she thought wildly as she scanned the area with her eyes.

She suddenly remembered what mr. Piccolo had said to her and Gohan. Something about sensing powerlevels. Maybe she could sense whatever was out there. She swallowed hard before she concentrated on the woods around her and 'felt' around with her senses.

She suddenly came upon something that gave off a powerlevel and she was so startled by it, that she pulled back and tripped over the branches behind her. She sprawled onto the ground and whimpered as she sat up, her eyes closed against the pain in her backside. She yelped as something grabbed hold of her leg and pulled her high into the air. Her eyes flew open and she came face to face, albeit upside down, with a very annoyed Piccolo.

"And just what do you think you are doing?" Piccolo growled.

"Uhm," Chiara said, blinking owlishly. "Building a fire?"

Piccolo glanced down at the small amount of branches that now lay scattered over the ground.

"I sensed you getting up almost fifteen minutes ago, why is it taking you so long?" Piccolo barked.

"I heard something in the woods," Chiara said in a small voice. "In that direction."

Piccolo glanced in the direction Chiara was pointing in, and suddenly dropped her. Chiara landed hard and rubbed her head as she sat up, looking up just in time to see Piccolo storming in the direction she had pointed in. He came back not much later and merely grunted when she asked if he had found anything.

"Why didn't you wake your brother up?" Piccolo asked, still sounding very annoyed.

"He's kind of a deep sleeper," Chiara said, now sitting on her half of the cloak she and her twin slept under. "My mom says we both are."

Piccolo grunted and though Chiara didn't know what it meant, she figured it couldn't be bad since he started building a fire for them. The only difference was, Piccolo managed to do so in a few seconds.

"Go to sleep," Piccolo finally said and Chiara complied, hoping that he wouldn't leave them alone again.

The next morning, however, Piccolo was gone. Chiara told Gohan what had happened, though it wasn't much, and the twins both waited for Piccolo's return, but he didn't return. Not that day, not the next and not for a long while after.

In the long months that followed, Chiara and Gohan grew steadily stronger, and although Gohan was consistently stronger than his smaller twin, Chiara was sure she would be of use when the time came to fight, though the thought of it made her nervous.

Also in the months that passed, and unbeknown to the demi-Saiyans, Krillin, Tien, Chao-Su and Yamcha started their training on Kami's look-out. That was in March. In late April, Goku arrived at King Kai's planet and started his training. After ten days Goku caught Bubbles in the immense gravity and then had to hit Gregory on the head with a hammer, which took him just about two weeks. In Late May, Tien, Yamcha, Krillin and Chao-Su went back in time to fight a pair of Saiyans and they were easily killed. After returning to their own bodies, they vowed to train even harder to get stronger.

But none of this was known to Gohan and Chiara. They lived in their own world, trained according to their own schedule and depended only on eachother. While Saiyan Twins are close to eachother by nature, and cannot possibly live without eachother, this time together served to strengthen their bond even further. They were young and naïve, and still had much to learn, but they loved eachother and their family too much not to fight, so when the time came, they would be ready.

And the time did come. On November the 2nd of the year 762 A.D Son Goku was resurrected after completing his training on King Kai's planet. Foolishly forgetting that the road back would take time, he would not be back in time for the start of the fight. And on November the 3rd, Vegeta and Nappa, two of the strongest warriors to have ever lived, came to Earth.


	4. Chapter 4: Saiyans from Space

Warnings for this chapter: Just some hysterics from ChiChi, that's about it.

Vegeta and Nappa Saga:

_Chapter IV: Saiyans from Space._

_762 A.D. November the 3rd._

"So," Chiara said as she followed her brother through the woods. "These Saiyans are from space?"

"That's what mr. Piccolo said," Gohan answered.

"And daddy is also from space?" Chiara asked, just narrowly avoiding tripping on a stone.

"Yeah, from another planet, I don't know what it's called though," Gohan said.

"But if daddy is from space, why aren't we from space?" Chiara asked, frowning in confusion.

"I don't know," Gohan said, frowning thoughtfully. "I guess it's because we weren't born in space."

"Gohan," Chiara said and Gohan stopped walking to turn to his sister. "Are we aliens too?"

Gohan thought for a moment and then shrugged, "I don't know, mom isn't an alien."

Chiara nodded as Gohan started walking again, and decided to leave it at that. Gohan never got mad at her, but she didn't want to push him. She was very curious about what being an alien meant. If their daddy was an alien but their mommy wasn't, what did that make them?. She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts as they reached the clearing where Piccolo told them to be.

The clearing was large and barren, really no more than a large patch of dirt and to Chiara it looked forbidding, like a fight was meant to take place there. She had just started wondering where Piccolo was when someone appeared right in front of them. Chiara all but leapt behind her brother, who took on a defensive stance, but the disgusted snort that issued forth from the new arrival was enough to tell them who it was.

"Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said happily, a big smile appearing on his face.

"I see you two are _ready_," Piccolo said gruffly, emphasizing the last word while glaring at Chiara.

Chiara blushed at her own cowardice and focused her eyes on the ground. Outwardly Piccolo let out a grunt of annoyance but inwardly he was worried.

'_She's not ready,' _he thought tensely. '_Not even close to it.'_

His attention was taken away from his thoughts when what he thought of as 'the goon squad' arrived. Tien, Chao-Su, Yamcha and Krillin all touched down and Krillin greeted the twins boisterously. Chiara and Gohan shyly said hello to Tien, Chao-Su and Yamcha, having never met them before.

Piccolo looked on and felt his ire rising. '_What are they doing?' _he thought angrily. '_What do they think this is, a party?'_

As if hearing Piccolo's thoughts, Tien turned to him and curtly nodded at him. Piccolo took it for what it was, a grudging acknowledgement that they would have to work together, but that didn't mean they would trust him. Piccolo snorted mentally as he returned the nod, let them mistrust him, he wasn't there for them.

"So now what, Piccolo?" Krillin asked.

"Now we wait," Piccolo ground out.

"Who's to say they'll even come here?" Yamcha asked, scowling at Piccolo. "They might be landing on the other side of the planet for all we know."

Piccolo closed his eyes to try and regain control of his temper, it wouldn't do to kill the weakling standing in front of him, so he had to stay calm.

"When the Saiyans arrive they will be looking for Son Goku, and they will expect him to be waiting for them. They will look for the highest powerlevel they can find, so when we sense them landing, we will raise our powerlevels and lead them here. We will then fight them," Piccolo explained as calmly as he could.

He could see that the humans were sceptical but they knew they had no choice but to believe him. He was after all the only one who had any clue as to what was going on. This thought caused Piccolo to turn to the two small half-Saiyans who were watching them talk.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the fight that lay ahead, but one thought kept coming back to him. One thought that worried him more than he was willing to admit, even to himself. '_Babies, that's all they are, just babies.'_

Hours passed and Chiara was getting bored. She knew better than to say it out loud though. Even if she whispered it to Gohan, mr Piccolo would hear and he would get angry at her. Whenever she said something when they were training in the woods, he always got angry with her. And so, as they waited, Chiara forced herself to entertain herself.

She counted the clouds in the sky, but that soon got boring. Besides, they kept moving. She then counted the dots on Krillin's forehead but there were only six of them so that was done quickly. She wondered what the dots were for and what they meant, but as she didn't have the answers that too got boring. She tried to build something with the dirt on the ground but Piccolo kept glaring at her, so she stopped. She sighed as she realized there just wasn't anything to do.

Suddenly, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, Chao-Su and Krillin tensed and they appeared to be focusing on something. Gohan and Chiara shared a glance before they too focused, and then they realized that it had happened. The Saiyans had arrived.

Chiara swallowed hard and desperately tried to quell the urge to hide behind Gohan. Not only would that anger mr. Piccolo, it would also be showing weakness, and Chiara just knew that was a bad thing. The Saiyans had arrived on Earth, and, as had been agreed on, the fighters on the side of good raised their powerlevels to lure them to the clearing.

Vegeta and Nappa had been absolutely terrifying, at least to Chiara they had been. The others seemed calm enough. The one called Vegeta was small, though much larger than the Saiyan girl, but he had a scowl on his face that told of a cruel disposition. The one called Nappa was much, much larger than Vegeta, larger even than Piccolo, with the same scowl on his face.

The Saiyans had indeed been looking for Goku and had informed them that they would wait for Goku. Chiara didn't know how long they would wait and what would happen when they decided they had waited long enough, but she hoped her daddy showed up soon.

What wasn't known to the fighters in the clearing was that Baba had gone to the Kame House, along with her crystal ball, and Master Roshi, ChiChi, Bulma and the others were now using the crystal ball to see what was going on in the clearing.

The crystal ball showed the Saiyans, making Bulma and ChiChi scream, and then showed the Z-fighters. While Bulma gushed over how well Yamcha looked, the crystal ball focused on two small tots. ChiChi screamed as she saw them and grabbed hold of the ball.

"My babies, my babies are out there," ChiChi shouted, before really looking at the twins. ChiChi screamed again as she saw what they looked like. "That green monster has turned my children into savages."

"Calm down, ChiChi, they look alright to me," Ox-King soothed.

"I am their mother, I know what they're supposed to look like, and this is not it," ChiChi wailed.

Ox-King tried to calm ChiChi down, but to no avail. ChiChi insisted on going down there herself, going as far as equipping herself with weapons, but her father would not let her go. They had no choice but to watch and pray.

Back in the clearing, Gohan was trying to explain to Chiara that Kakkarot was their father.

"But I thought daddy's name was Goku," Chiara whispered to Gohan.

"His real name is Kakkarot," Gohan whispered back, stumbling over the name a little bit.

While Chiara and Gohan held their whispered conversation, Piccolo tensely watched them from a small distance. '_What was I thinking?. Gohan may be ready, but Chiara's not. I'll wind up getting her killed.'_ He turned away from the others, not wanting them to see the concern on his face and resolved to keep an eye on the Saiyans. '_I'll just have to keep them away from her... somehow.'_

Not far from where Chiara and Gohan were sitting, Tien, Yamcha, Krillin and Chao-Su were also watching the Saiyans, wondering whether Goku would show up in time, and if he did, whether he would be able to beat the Saiyans.


	5. Chapter 5: No More Waiting

Warnings for this chapter: Violence.

_Chapter V: No More Waiting._

_762 A.D. November the 3rd._

The time had come, the Saiyans had decided that they would wait no longer, and the battle had begun. Rather than fight them themselves, however, Nappa had planted some seeds that evolved into small, green beings called Saibamen.

Tien fought a Saibaman and killed it. Yamcha fought a Saibaman as well, but was caught off guard and killed when it self-destructed. Krillin lost it and killed all the remaining Saibamen in one amazing energy blast.

The z-fighters rejoiced, as did their friends watching at home, until a Saibamen that had managed to survive the blast came flying out of nowhere. Gohan whirled around but it was already on him, it knocked him down and then went to grab him, more than likely meaning to self-destruct when a blast hit the thing from the side, piercing its head.

Gohan looked up and saw Chiara standing there, her arm still extended. She looked to be in a state of shock at what she had done. She slowly retracted her arm, looking at it as if she had never seen it before.

"So," Vegeta growled to Nappa, though they were both smirking. "They managed to get through the Saibamen, though just barely. Perhaps it's time we take care of this ourselves."

"I'll take care of it," Nappa growled, clenching his fists, a horrible smile on his face. "Let me at 'm."

Vegeta chuckled and nodded. Tien was to be the first to take on Nappa. He fought with everything he had but it was no use, Nappa was just too strong. After performing one last desperate energy blast, which might have killed Nappa if he hadn't seen it coming, Tien was killed.

Piccolo was the next to fall at the hands of the big Saiyan, after selflessly sacrificing his life by taking a blast that was meant for Gohan. Gohan and Krillin then fought Nappa together, but no matter what they did, they were continually beaten. Nappa smirked as he prepared to kill off Krillin, when a small form took him completely off-guard, and sent him skidding over the ground.

"What the..." Nappa's voice was filled with confusion as he picked himself up and looked over at the girl that had kicked him.

Nappa growled as he stalked over to Chiara, fury replacing his disbelief. This time, however, it was Vegeta who stopped him.

Vegeta smirked when Nappa glared at him, "You take care of the chrome-dome and the brat, I'll take care of the runt."

It took Nappa a moment to figure out who he meant by chrome-dome and brat, and who he meant by runt, and when he did, he reluctantly nodded his assent. Nappa turned back to Krillin and Gohan as Vegeta cornered Chiara. Chiara's courage had long since dissolved and she was backing away from him as fast as she could without tripping.

Vegeta chuckled as he punched Chiara in the stomach and sent her to the ground.

"Cute little babies shouldn't be hanging around battle fields," he mocked as he picked her up by her shirt.

"Chiara," Gohan cried as he tried to get to her, only to run into Nappa.

"I am not a baby," Chiara ground out, trying to get loose.

Vegeta smirked as he heard her say this, before once again punching her in the stomach. Chiara's breath left her and she paled as the pain registered.

"Don't take it personal, runt," Vegeta said, still holding onto her shirt. "You're just in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Vegeta laughed again until Chiara's foot caught him in the stomach, he let go of her sending her plunging to the ground, and chuckled as he rubbed the spot on his stomach.

He straightened up and said, "Stronger than you look, huh?"

A backhand sent Chiara tumbling across the clearing and had her landing hard on the other side.

"Not strong enough," Vegeta said, mocking her as he walked to her.

"Leave her alone," Krillin shouted, trying to get up himself. "She's done nothing to you."

Vegeta ignored Krillin and kept approaching her until he suddenly found himself facing somebody else entirely. Somebody who sent a fist flying into his face and sent him flying across the clearing, much like he had done to Chiara. In the seconds that followed, he could hear shouts behind him and something heavy landed on the ground not far from him.

Vegeta laid still for a few seconds, trying to get his bearings. He grunted as he sat up and confusedly looked at where he had left the girl. The runt wasn't alone anymore, the chrome-dome and the brat had joined her, and there was somebody kneeling next to her, picking her up and cradling her like a baby.

Consciousness slowly returned to Chiara and she became aware of someone holding her. She began to struggle when a very familiar voice spoke to her.

"It's okay, sweetheart, it's only me," the voice said.

Chiara opened her eyes and blinked to clear her vision. When it finally did, she found herself looking into her father's relieved face.

"Daddy," Chiara tried to cry out, but all that came out was a hoarse little cry.

Goku's features darkened as anger flooded him, both of his children had been hurt, and somebody was going to pay. Chiara's eyes closed again as Goku gently picked her up and walked to the edge of the clearing, Gohan and Krillin right behind him. He placed Chiara down on the ground and instructed Gohan and Krillin to stay with her.

"I'll take care of everything," he said, before he turned to Vegeta and Nappa with a scowl on his face.

As Goku approached the two Saiyans, Chiara regained consciousness once again. She was dimly aware of somebody cradling her head and she seemed to remember seeing her dad.

"Daddy?" she called out weakly.

"Chi, you're awake," an enthusiastic voice cried.

"Gohan," Chiara said as it finally registered that it had been Gohan who had cried out. "Was daddy here?. Did I imagine it?"

"No, little one," another voice said. "Your dad's really here. He's just fighting the Saiyans right now."

Chiara's eyes blurrily focused on Krillin's face as he said that, and she briefly wondered what a Saiyan was before she remembered. They were fighting the Saiyans. White hot fear lanced through her, fear that could have been just pain. She didn't know. She could feel the sounds around her getting dimmer and everything went black once more.

When she woke up again, she was aware of nothing but noise. Alot of it, very close to her. She painfully raised her head and tried to see what was going on, but all she saw was light and dark blurs. She took a moment to focus her eyes on the blurs and suddenly realized that they were fighting. One of them was very large and dark, the other was much smaller and wearing what looked to be armor.

She faintly realized that the one wearing the armor was one of the Saiyans they were fighting, but who was the large one?. Chiara winced as she forced herself to get to her feet. She very slowly stood as the two forms continued to fight, and was suddenly aware that the noise she was hearing wasn't just the fighting. She was hearing voices. Where were they coming from?. Chiara took a step and hoarsely screamed as pain shot up her legs and she collapsed again.

Silence fell over the clearing as the fight before her suddenly seemed to cease. Chiara painfully raised her head and saw why. The armored Saiyan was down and apparently unconscious, and the larger form – was it a monkey? – was holding a large boulder over his head.

"Gohan, STOP," a voice yelled across the clearing and the monkey paused.

'_Gohan,' _Chiara blurrily thought. '_The monkey is Gohan?'_. Chiara looked at the large ape and suddenly realized that it was Gohan, it felt exactly like him. The monkey's pause was brief and he raised the boulder again to bring it down on – Vegeta, was it? – the Saiyan, when Chiara instinctively sent her thoughts through her mental link with Gohan.

'_Gohan, no,' _she sent, praying he would hear, and the monkey stopped again.

Chiara once again pushed herself to her feet as the monkey turned to where she stood. She didn't move from where she stood, afraid she would pass out otherwise, but raised her head to look at him.

"Don't you know me, Gohan?" she asked, wincing in pain. "Don't you know your own twin?"

Gohan threw away the boulder he had had raised over his head and slowly but surely turned back to his own form. Chiara smiled briefly as she saw him change before blackness overtook her once more, and this time she welcomed it.

Note: In this chapter I wrote a few bits more or less from Vegeta's point of view. You'll notice that I haven't written any of his thoughts. The reason for that is that I'm finding Vegeta very hard to write when he's still completely evil. He's much easier to write later on.


	6. Chapter 6: The Fight's Over

Note: My apologies for this chapter being a day late, isn't always the greatest site.

Warnings for this chapter: a tiny glimpse of the less sweet side of Son Chiara, a side that will become more prominent over time, if her Saiyan temper has anything to say about it.

_Chapter VI: The Fight's Over._

_762 A.D. November the 5th._

When Chiara woke up again, she was no longer on the cold, hard ground. In fact, she wasn't anywhere near the clearing where the fight had taken place. She was in a soft and warm bed. She moved a little and cried out as pain shot through her. Her cry didn't go unnoticed and seconds later, ChiChi was leaning over her daughter.

"Hey," ChiChi greeted warmly. "You're awake."

"Mommy," Chiara cried as her mother gently hugged her.

"Oh my baby," ChiChi cooed as she held her daughter. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, where's Gohan?" Chiara asked. "And where's daddy?. Are they okay?"

"Your father and your brother are in the next room, and they are fine," ChiChi assured before her face darkened slightly. "Though they wouldn't be if _they_ had anything to say about it."

ChiChi tucked Chiara in again and fussed over her as Chiara looked around the room. It was a small and incredibly white room, and for the first time Chiara realized she was in the hospital. She had never been in the hospital before and she looked around in amazement as her mother made her drink a glass of water.

"Now, you just go back to sleep," ChiChi said. "You need plenty of rest."

Chiara nodded, suddenly feeling very sleepy. She blinked and tried to stay awake but it seemed as if something was pulling her eyelids down and she soon gave in. ChiChi smiled softly as she saw Chiara doze off.

"You sleep, sweetheart, your ordeal is over," ChiChi said before kissing her on the forehead and leaving the room.

_762 A.D. November the 7th._

Chiara stared straight ahead, her arms crossed as she often did as she was sulking. But unlike all the times before, she wasn't pouting, she was scowling. She was at home, sitting on her bed in the room she shared with her brother, though at the moment she was alone.

She was scowling because of something that had happened earlier that day. Her mother, Gohan, Krillin, Ox-King, Oolong, Puar, Bulma and Chiara were all at the hospital visiting Goku. Although Goku was no longer in the box-like bed, he was still wrapped in bandages and he had to stay in hospital for at least another month. Chiara was settled comfortably on her daddy's bed.

They were talking about gathering the Namekian dragonballs, something they had found out about only recently. They would go to Namek to gather them and use them to wish back their friends. Chiara had been really excited about it as well until her father had spoken up.

"You're not going, Chi," Goku said.

"What...what do you mean?" Chiara asked, hoping she had understood wrong.

"I will be expecting you to stay home," Goku said. "I know you want to go but there's no need and I won't put you in danger again."

"But dad..." Chiara began.

"You're not going," Goku said sternly. "And I wont hear another word about it."

Chiara's face fell and she climbed down from the bed. She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, the silent click echoing through the room.

"There was no need for you to be so harsh, Goku," Bulma scolded.

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but she needs to understand that this is not a game. She's not going and that's final," Goku said firmly, the look on his face clearly saying that the discussion was over.

So now there she was, in her room. Why was she in her room?. Because her mother had sent her there for throwing a temper tantrum about not being allowed to go. A tantrum that would have made her daddy ashamed of her, she knew, but she couldn't help it.

'_Why can't I go to Namek?,'_ Chiara thought, and now she _was_ pouting. '_Gohan get's to go, and he's just as old as I am. I bet it's because I'm a girl.'_

She huffily stood up on her bed and started bouncing up and down, something she always did when she needed to calm down. After a while of bouncing up and down, she heard footsteps on the stairs and she quickly sat down on her bed.

Gohan walked in and smiled at her but Chiara couldn't get herself to smile back. It wasn't Gohan's fault but she was just too upset.

"Hey, Chi," Gohan said hesitantly.

"Hey, Gohan," Chiara said.

"You're not upset with me, are you Chi?" Gohan asked worriedly.

Chiara saw the frown on Gohan's face and her annoyance melted away. She got up and hugged her twin. "Of course not," she said. "It's not your fault."

Gohan's face brightened at that and returned the hug. "I'd hide you away in my pocket if I could."

Chiara's eyes popped open at that before she pasted a smile on her face and said, "Yeah, I know. Thanks, Gohan."

Gohan smiled brightly at her as he nodded before he left the room again, alot happier than he had been. Chiara was alot happier than she had been as well as an idea formed itself in her mind.


	7. Chapter 7: A New Goal: Namek

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None that I can think of.

Namek Saga:

_Chapter VII: A New Goal: Namek._

_762 A.D. November the 14th._

The big day had finally arrived and Gohan couldn't be happier. Well, he could have been if Chiara had been going with them but their mother and father had been adamant that she stay on Earth, so he supposed there was nothing that could be done.

Kame's Spaceship, which would be taking them to Namek, had been fixed up completely five days earlier and Bulma had only just finished up learning the Namekian language, and now they would be heading for the planet, Namek. Gohan had to admit, he was nervous.

Not only would he be going to another planet, not only would he once again be away from his mom, he would also be away from his twin, for the first time ever. He didn't know if their mental link would hold up when one of them was on another planet but he hoped it would.

The large spaceship loomed in front of them and they prepared to board. His mother was fussing as always and as always Gohan just stood back and let her. She had cut his hair and made him wear clean and neat clothes. Krillin had just about burst a bloodvessel trying not to laugh when he saw. Gohan looked around before he was to board the vessel but didn't see who he was looking for. He was about to ask his mother about it when Krillin beat him to it.

"Where's Chiara, ChiChi?" Krillin asked.

ChiChi frowned and put her hands on her hips, "At home, sulking as she has been for the past week. Well, she can just stay there if she doesn't stop throwing those tantrums."

"She's been throwing tantrums?" Krillin asked in disbelief.

"Like you wouldn't believe," ChiChi seethed. "I've had to send her to bed with no supper twice already. Goku will have to have a talk with her when he leaves the hospital."

Krillin nodded, still trying to picture the quiet and sweet little girl yelling and stomping her feet.

"It's time we go," Bulma snapped from inside the spaceship.

They all stepped onto the platform and after Bulma spoke the password, it began to ascend. Gohan took one last look around, hoping to see Chiara standing there but he saw nothing and the spaceship closed.

The trip to Namek was anything but uneventful for the three known occupants of the spaceship, but it was even worse for the unknown occupant. The cargo room wasn't spacious and without anything to really hold on to, Chiara was thrown back and forth every time the spaceship moved even slightly.

Time passed slowly as the trip went from calm, to rough, back to calm again. Chiara wondered whether they were far enough for her to reveal herself without immediately being brought back to Earth. She hoped so because her head was beginning to hurt.

She didn't know how long she had been in there but she had gone through most of her food supply already and she had no idea when she would be able to show herself. She found herself nodding off periodically until suddenly the spaceship started shaking violently and the small door to the cargo room opened and everything spilled out, including Chiara.

"Great," Bulma snapped as stuff flew all around them. "Who left the cargo..."

Bulma broke off abruptly when her eyes fell on the small girl lying on the ground, looking up at them sheepishly.

"Hi," Chiara said softly.

Bulma's jaw dropped as Krillin and Gohan helped Chiara up, stunned looks on their faces as well.

"Chi, how did you get in there?" Gohan asked.

"Never mind that, what are you doing here?" Bulma snapped.

"I'm coming with you to Namek," Chiara said.

"I can see that, but have you forgotten your father told you you couldn't go?" Bulma asked angrily.

Chiara momentarily deflated. She had disobeyed her daddy, something she had never done before. Then she raised her chin defiantly. "I didn't forget, but I wanna come too."

"Why?" Bulma demanded. "You don't even like the dragonballs."

"No, I don't," Chiara had to admit. She didn't know why, but there was something about the dragonballs that bothered her. "But I like Piccolo, and Tien, and Yamcha, and..." she trailed off.

"Chao-Su," Krillin offered.

Chiara smiled gratefully and nodded. "And I want them to come back."

Bulma stood there seething for a moment, before she huffed in resignation. "Well, we can't go back now, so you might as well come."

Chiara sighed in relief as Bulma turned away, at least she wasn't going to be taken back. "I'm not gonna be in the way, I'll help, you'll see."

'_I hope,' _she thought as she turned away to pick up the things that had fallen out of the cargo space.

While she was picking things up a question suddenly occured to her.

"How long have we been in space?" Chiara asked.

Bulma ignored her and Gohan didn't know but Krillin answered. "A week now."

Chiara nodded. '_No wonder I nearly ran out of food,' _she thought.

_762 A.D. December the 18th._

It had been just under a month since Chiara had been discovered on board the spaceship and the tension had been unbearable for a while. Or at least, the tension between Chiara and Bulma was unbearable. Bulma was either ignoring or snapping at Chiara and though Chiara never snapped back, it was clear she didn't like Bulma one bit.

Krillin knew better than to think Bulma really disliked Chiara. Bulma had a good heart and he knew her snapping at Chiara was her way of covering up how worried she was for the girl's safety. As if worrying about Gohan wasn't enough, she now had to worry about Chiara as well.

In the mean time, Krillin had so far seen no evidence of any penchant for temper tantrums in Chiara, something he had been wondering about ever since ChiChi mentioned the tantrums. He had been looking closely but Chiara didn't appear to be anything other than a sweet and innocent little girl, something that worried him to no end.

There was a reason Goku didn't want her to go, and though she was undoubtedly capable of defending herself against the average human, they weren't going to be encountering any of those on Namek. He sighed and resolved to keep a close eye on his best friend's daughter for as long as he had to. They were just going to have to go to Namek, quickly gather the dragonballs and then leave again. '_Yeah,' _Krillin thought wryly. '_As if things are ever that easy.' _The past month certainly hadn't been easy.

They had landed in an invisible ship that belonged to a people called the Ritojin. They had been suspected of being in league with someone called Frieza, and though Krillin had no idea who Frieza was, he knew it had to be bad because the Ritojin had been just about ready to shoot them. They had helped the Ritojin, had proven that they weren't in league with any evil and had been allowed to leave.

Then they had landed on the wrong planet altogether and had been led to believe they were on Namek. They had gone off in search of the dragonballs, only to find that the aliens they had thought to be Nameks were really pink aliens of some sort who had been after their ship.

During this particular adventure, Krillin had seen the first signs of a temper in Chiara when they had found out they had been deceived. Though no tantrum had been forthcoming, he could see the anger in her and Chiara had also been less than pleased with Bulma for letting herself get caught and giving the password to the ship. This had only added to the tension.

Krillin sighed again and prayed that when they finally did get to Namek, things would be easier than they had been so far. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?. He winced when he heard Bulma screaming at Chiara for dropping something and shook his head. Who was he kidding?.

Note: Okay, I realize I skipped a whole lot of things but the whole adventure with the Ritojin wasn't really important and I always thought that the adventure with the pink aliens was just annoying, so I skipped both and we're going straight to Namek.


	8. Chapter 8: Touchdown on Namek

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence and... that's about it.

_Chapter VIII: Touchdown on Namek._

_762 A.D. December the 18th._

While Krillin, Gohan, Chiara and Bulma made their way to Namek, Goku was still in the hospital. ChiChi had told him that Chiara was missing and he knew what that meant. She had gone to Namek with the others. Since finding out, Goku had been very quiet, his face wearing a permanent frown.

ChiChi left him alone for the most part, only bothering him when he needed something. His injuries were healing, but they were healing too slowly. He needed to get up and moving again. He needed to get to Namek.

Meanwhile, the Namekian spaceship was still making its way to Namek.

"Wait a minute," Bulma suddenly said breathlessly, looking out the large window at the front of the ship. "Is it…?"

"Can it be?" Krillin said, joining her. "Already?"

"It looks like…" Gohan said as he and Chiara pressed their hands against the window.

"Namek," the twins chorused together.

"Kids, I think we're here," Krillin said, a big smile on his face.

Gohan and Chiara cheered as Bulma confirmed that the coordinates were correct.

"Wauw, it didn't take as long as I thought," Gohan enthused.

Chiara pressed her small face against the window and laughed breathlessly. They made it. She heard Bulma say something about a short-cut and how the Rito-jin had showed it to her and she sent a mental thank you to them.

"Sure helped us out," Krillin said. "Now let's land this thing."

"You got it," Bulma said. "As you all already know, landing is my specialty. Well, it's one of them."

"Hey, you two," Krillin called to the twins. "Sit down, it could be a bumpy landing."

Gohan did as he was asked but Chiara lingered for a few more moments. Namek looked amazing.

"Chiara," Krillin called.

"Coming," Chiara said, making her way across the ship.

Bulma had already started landing, however, and she obviously wasn't as good at it as she thought. The ship was caught in what appeared to be turbulence. The door of the spaceship was torn open and Chiara found herself getting pulled out. She screamed as she flew out of the door at a terrifying speed and she vaguely heard her brother and Krillin yell her name before the ship disappeared from view.

The ship landed and although Bulma said something about gravitational pull and the atmosphere, neither Krillin nor Gohan waited. They burst from the ship, already calling Chiara's name.

"Chiara," Krillin called.

"Chi, where are you?" Gohan cried desperately.

There was no sign of Chiara and no answer to their calls. Both Krillin and Gohan tried to sense Chiara's ki but there was far too much disturbance to sense anything. Gohan tried to reach out with his mind but there was no answer. Gohan's eyes filled with tears as he realized they weren't going to find Chiara.

Bulma came running out of the ship when she realized they were outside.

"How dare you step out to this atmosphere without the proper protection," she raged. "You could have been squashed like two little insects."

"Who cares about the atmosphere?" Gohan half-yelled. "Chiara's gone."

Gohan's bottom lip started trembling and he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hey, little man," Krillin said, putting his arm around Gohan. "Getting angry at Bulma isn't going to help us."

"It's okay Krillin, I guess I was being insensitive," Bulma muttered.

Gohan looked away in shame at his outburst and Krillin said, "Let's just go find Chiara and do what we came here to do."

Gohan nodded, taking a trembling breath. He prayed that they would find Chiara soon, he didn't want to think about what could be happening to her.

Chiara woke up quite a distance from where the ship landed. She groaned as she tried to move. Her head and body were aching like never before, worse than they had been after the beating she had taken from Vegeta on Earth. She tried to fly but found that she couldn't, as it was she could barely walk.

She walked for a long while, her body aching more and more with every step she took. She knew she couldn't last much longer. She never even remotely sensed Vegeta coming her way. Vegeta landed in front of Chiara, who gasped as she saw who it was.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the cute little baby being in the wrong place, at the wrong time..." Vegeta sneered "...again."

Chiara just barely suppressed a scream as she realized just how much trouble she was in, she could feel herself getting light in the head, and the world around her was beginning to blur. Suddenly she was snatched off the ground and shaken violently. Her vision cleared and she found herself face to face with Vegeta.

"Breathe, runt," Vegeta snarled. "You're not getting away that easily."

Vegeta was as quick as lightening as he struck Chiara in the face with the back of his clenched fist. She skidded over the ground and into a nearby tree. She groaned in pain as he walked to her.

"It'll be a long while yet before I let you pass out," Vegeta said.

Chiara didn't respond and Vegeta chuckled before kicking her in the ribs. Chiara was sent flying, landing on her stomach. She cried out and coughed up blood. Vegeta walked to her and stood over her, one foot on each side of her body.

"I'm surprised your daddy let you come all the way to Namek," Vegeta said. "He must not care very much."

Chiara tried to get up but Vegeta put his foot on her back and pushed her down again. Chiara's eyes filled with tears. Though she knew what Vegeta was saying wasn't true, she also knew that she had deliberately done what her daddy had told her not to do. She had gone to Namek. Maybe her daddy wouldn't care anymore, now that she had disobeyed him. Vegeta laughed again as he looked down at her.

"I didn't get the chance to finish you off the first time, but I'm sure you'll be willing to hold still and let me kill you now," Vegeta mocked.

Vegeta raised his hand, generating a ball of energy in his hand. He was interrupted by the arrival of a purple, fish-like alien. An alien Vegeta apparently knew.

"Well, well, it's my good friend Kui," Vegeta sneered.

"Save it, Vegeta," Kui sneered back. "It's time somebody got rid of you."

Kui looked down at the small battered form lying at the Saiyans feet and smirked. "It doesn't seem as if your little friend will be able to, so I'll just do it instead."

The battle between Vegeta and Kui wasn't long but it was long enough for Chiara to muster enough strength, or desperation, to drag herself up and struggle away from where they were fighting. While Vegeta was fighting, he noticed he couldn't see the runt anywhere anymore and he growled.

"Now look what you've done, fish-face. You've caused the runt to escape," Vegeta spat at Kui, not really angry about it. He'd get the little half-breed later.

Chiara, in the mean time, collapsed not far from where they were fighting. She was out of sight but she knew that wouldn't save her. She had to get out of there, as far away from Vegeta as she could get. She tried to get up but Vegeta had broken quite a few of her ribs and her inside hurt badly.

She laid herself down on her back and prayed for a miracle. After lying there for a little while she figured that if the miracle wasn't going to come to her, she was going to come to it. She made several attempts to get up but she failed every time.

She wasn't able to stand and walk much less fly, so she reached her arms out and pulled herself forward over the ground. She crawled and pushed herself forward, looking for her miracle. What she found was a nightmare.

While Chiara was crawling towards her potential doom, Son Goku was taking off in his own spaceship. He had said goodbye to ChiChi and gone to Capsule Corporation where the spaceship that would take him to Namek had been waiting.

As the spaceship broke through the atmosphere and headed into space, Goku's thoughts drifted to those who were already on Namek, those he was now setting out to help. His best friend, Krillin. His good friend, Bulma. His son, Gohan. And his daughter, Chiara.

His features darkened as he thought about the fact that his daughter was out there as well. She wasn't supposed to be out there, she was supposed to be at home with her mom. He had been furious when he had found out Chiara was missing, knowing full well that could mean only one thing.

His fury had abated, however, and now he was just worried. Both of his children were out there, they could be getting into any amount of trouble and he was too far away to do anything for them. It scared him to know that the two small children, who he had kept close to him their whole lives, who only a year earlier had still been clutching his pants legs, were now light years away from him. All he could do at the moment was hurry. Hurry and pray that he wasn't too late.


	9. Chapter 9: Meeting with Guru

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence.

_Chapter IX: Meeting with Guru._

_762 A.D. December the 19th._

Chiara had been wandering around Namek for a while and she was completely exhausted. She had managed to work herself onto her knees so she was going a little faster but she was still getting nowhere.

'_I'm hungry, thirsty, warm, I hurt, and...,' _she thought, her bottom lip wobbling and tears forming in her eyes. '_...I want my mommy and daddy.'_

She was now crawling very slowly, the burning sun was taking it's toll and she was beginning to wonder why she every came to the rotten planet. She cried as she realized that it was too late to think about that now. She jumped back, much to her ribs' dismay, when someone suddenly landed in front of her.

She looked up at the person standing before her and then had to wonder if she was even looking at a person. He was huge, fat and pink, with spikes on his head and arms. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but malice there.

"Oh no," Chiara whispered.

"What do we have here?" the creature said in a raspy voice. He let out an awful bark of laughter. "Never mind, master Frieza will be pleased to know that I've taken out the little pest we spotted on the scouter."

'_Frieza?,' _Chiara thought in confusion. He pointed his arm at her and Chiara gasped.

"Wait," she cried. "Who are you?. What did I do?. Whatever I did, I take it back."

The pink creature paused to let out another bark of laughter. "It doesn't matter what you've done. Your death will please master Frieza, that's all that matters. Who I am is none of your concern, though if you must know, it is Dodoria who caused your demise. Though it won't save you, you may grovel if you like."

Chiara's temper flared momentarily. "I'll never grovel for an overgrown gumball like you."

Dodoria's face tightened in anger and he growled. "You little brat, you'll pay for that."

A ball of energy appeared in Dodoria's palm and Chiara found that she didn't have the energy to move. The ball that Dodoria was aiming at her wasn't very big, as Dodoria judged her to be very weak, so when it hit, it didn't kill her. Dodoria smirked as she lay there unconscious.

"Well, well, she's still alive," Dodoria sneered. "Not for long."

Dodoria created another ball of energy and this time it was big enough to kill her, but it never reached her. It was deflected away from her by someone. Dodoria furiously looked around to see who had stopped him and he came face to face with a group of Nameks from one of the villages that had been destroyed.

"The game's over, fiend," one of the Nameks growled. "Step away from the girl."

"Make me," Dodoria challenged.

"I think I will," the Namek said through clenched teeth.

The Nameks attacked Dodoria and, although Dodoria was far too strong for them, they managed to give one of their number enough time to pick Chiara up and hightail it out of there. He took her to Guru while most of the other Nameks sacrificed their lives to give him enough time.

While the Namek took Chiara to safety, Gohan and Krillin were jumping across the surface of Namek, knowing that flying would give them away. They were in search of the dragonballs, a fair number of which were located straight ahead, but most importantly they were searching for Chiara.

Gohan had been going mad with concern for Chiara and there was nothing Krillin could have said to persuade him to keep a low profile. They had retreated to a cave when a huge powerlevel had approached and they had quickly hidden from view.

Gohan had been hysterical, thinking the huge powerlevel might find his sister and he insisted they go and follow it. Krillin had thought it was an insane idea but he didn't speak up and agreed to come along, leaving Bulma on her own in the cave.

Krillin was worried, actually he was more than worried, he was terrified. His plan had been to go to Namek, get the dragonballs and go back home. Well, they had gotten to Namek and they still had the dragon radar so they could find the dragonballs but that was all they had going for them.

Their spaceship was ruined after a battle with some fairly weak fighters so they had no way of getting home again, Goku probably wasn't going to show up any time soon, there was a fighter on Namek stronger than all of them combined and Chiara was still missing.

They now crawled across a slab of stone towards where the huge powerlevel had stopped and peeked over the edge, praying they wouldn't be discovered.

Chiara, in the mean time, was being taken to the father of all Namekians. The Namek who had rescued her carried her to the building that housed the great Namek and was accosted by another Namek.

"Nail," the Namek said. "The girl needs help."

Nail looked down at the small, unconscious girl lying in his fellow Namek's arms and winced at the number of injuries on her. It was obvious that the girl was hurt badly and a decision needed to be made quickly.

"Follow me," Nail said.

They walked into the building together and soon stood before the great Guru.

"Guru, this girl..." Nail began.

"I know, my child," Guru said. "Let us not waste any more time. Dende?"

A small Namek boy came forward, "Yes, Guru?"

"Be so kind to heal this young lady for me, my son," Guru said.

"Yes, Guru," Dende said.

Dende kneeled down next to Chiara and began the healing process. While Dende was healing her, the Namek who had brought her questioned Guru.

"Who is she, Guru?" the Namek asked.

"She is one of the fighters who have come to our planet for the dragonballs," Guru answered.

The Namek and Nail both gasped and got into a fighting stance.

"Easy, my children. She is on the side of good. She wishes to find the dragonballs to wish for her friends to be brought back to life," Guru said. "It is a noble wish."

Dende, who had heard nothing of any of this, finished healing Chiara. Chiara slowly opened her eyes and looked at Dende. Dende blushed and stepped back. Chiara slowly got up and looked from Dende to Nail and from Nail to Guru. Chiara's mouth dropped open as she stared at the huge Namek. Guru chuckled.

"Welcome to my home, child," Guru said. "I am Guru, father of all Nameks. May I ask you for your name?"

"I'm Son Chiara," Chiara managed to say. "You're all Nameks."

"Yes, we are," Nail said. "Guru informs us that you have come here for the dragonballs."

"Yes, but I'm not worried about the dragonballs," Chiara said.

"Why is that, my child?" Guru asked.

Chiara's bottom lip wobbled again and tears formed in her eyes, "I can't even find my brother and my friends, how am I gonna find the dragonballs?"

"Now, now," Guru soothed. "Everything will be alright, you'll find your brother and your friends in due time."

"Really?" Chiara asked, rubbing at her eyes.

Guru nodded and Chiara cheered up. Then she turned to Dende and bowed. Dende bowed as well.

"I don't know how you did it, but thank you for healing me," Chiara said.

"You don't have to thank me," Dende said, blushing even more. "It was no big deal."

"I think it was," Chiara said.

Chiara continued to speak with Guru, Nail and Dende, happy that she was, at least for the time being, safe.

Note: Okay, so Chiara's off on her own adventure while Gohan, Krillin and Bulma go their way but they'll meet up eventually. I've probably got the events on Namek all mixed up, and you'll have to forgive me for that, because when I tried to make everything the way it should be, _my story_ got all mixed up.


	10. Chapter 10: Frieza's Henchmen

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: As always there is some violence.

_Chapter X: Frieza's Henchmen._

_762 A.D. December the 21st._

Chiara stayed with Guru for a while longer until she deemed it was time to go. She had no idea how much time had passed but she knew she had been there for some time. She coughed to get everyone's attention and then said, "Excuse me, Guru sir, but I really should be on my way."

"Of course, I shall hold you back no longer," Guru said. "Before you go, I would like for you to step forward, just for a short moment."

"Oh...sure," Chiara said.

Chiara stepped to Guru and he placed his very large hand on her very small head. Rays of light flared around her and Chiara gasped, before she felt her powerlevel going up. The light grew brighter and was then extinguished. All of a sudden it flared up again and Chiara was surrounded by it for quite a while.

"What happened?" Chiara asked.

"I awakened your sleeping powers, my child, they shall help you in the task that lies before you," Guru said.

Chiara nodded slowly, in awe of what had just happened. Chiara said goodbye to them all and stepped outside the building. She took a deep breath, savoured the feeling of her new found strength and then smiled. '_Alright, Gohan, Bulma, Krillin, here I come,' _she thought.

Chiara left Guru's to look for Krillin, Gohan and Bulma. She had been flying for quite some time when she got so tired, she almost fell asleep in mid-air. '_Sleeping powers or no sleeping powers, I'm tired.' _She landed in a valley and laid herself down on a slab of rock, intending to just rest for a few moments. Before long, however, she found herself falling asleep.

She was awakened by a foot harshly prodding her in the side. She grumbled in her sleep and turned over. She felt the prodding feeling again.

"Leave me alone, I'm still sleepy," Chiara muttered.

"Get up," a gruff voice ordered.

Chiara opened her eyes and looked straight into a humanoid face and a dog-like face. She jumped up and backed herself up against a mountain wall.

"Look what we have here, Buruberi," the humanoid sneered. "A little girl, waiting to be killed."

Chiara winced inwardly. '_Not another fight.' _She quickly got a sense of their powerlevels and sighed in relief when she realized they were much weaker then she was. She stood up straight and took a deep breath.

"I will not cower for you," she said defiantly.

"Huh?" Buruberi said, stunned that she had said something.

"Oh really?" the humanoid challenged. "Well, we'll just see about that."

He raised his arm, intending on shooting her with his blaster, but when he fired Chiara dodged it. He fired again and again but Chiara kept on dodging, until she was close enough to hit him. She punched him back and sent a large ki-wave after him.

"Razuberi," Buruberi yelled as his companion was thrown backwards, a large hole in his chest.

Buruberi turned to Chiara and looked at her with different eyes. '_So the girl's not weak, huh?'_

He went to shoot her with his own blaster but she had disappeared from in front of him and reappeared behind him. She punched him in the back and her hand went straight through him. She gasped and quickly pulled back, dismay flooding her as she realized what she had just done.

Buruberi reeled forwards and grasped his stomach, trying to keep the blood in but it was no use, he was bleeding to death. It didn't take long for him to fall to the ground, to never get up again. Chiara was backing away from him, still in shock. '_I killed him, I killed them both.'_

She swallowed hard and forced the bile that was rising in her throat down again. She couldn't be weak, she had to kill them, but why did she feel like such a horrible person?. She shook her head and quickly took off, knowing she couldn't possibly just go back to sleep.

_762 A.D. December the 21st._

Chiara flew around in a daze. She had killed. She had taken two lives. She shuddered as she thought about her hand going through that one man's stomach and quickly shook off the thought when she became aware that she was being followed.

She turned around to see who it was, only to be met by a harsh fist in the face. She crashed down to the ground and wildly prayed that it wasn't Vegeta. But she needn't have bothered, it wasn't Vegeta. It was somebody else entirely.

He was tall, with long green hair, and pale blue skin and amber eyes. All Chiara saw, however, was that he was stronger than her, much stronger, and she was going to die. She got up and pressed herself against the rock wall behind her.

"Well, well, if it isn't one of the little half-blood monkeys," the blue man mocked.

Chiara's eyes widened at that and the man chuckled.

"Don't look so surprised, I know about you, you and your little mongrel brother," he sneered. "No matter, I don't have the time for this. I have another monkey to find."

The man raised his arm and a large ball of ki formed in his palm, a ball Chiara didn't doubt would kill her. Chiara closed her eyes in terror and waited for the end to come when she heard an exclamation from her would-be killer. She opened her eyes and saw him looking up.

"There you are," the man said. "I've got you now, Vegeta."

He took off without giving Chiara another thought and Chiara sagged to the ground in relief. He had left. She had been sure she was about to die, but he had left. She laid there for a while before she was able to find the energy to get up again. She needed to find her brother and her friends and she wasn't about to go in the direction the blue man had gone, so she turned the other way and flew into the other direction, the wrong direction.

_762 A.D. December the 22nd._

Krillin sighed as he looked at Gohan standing at the end of the canyon they were currently staying in, staring up at the sky. The little man had taken his sister's disappearance hard and had been obsessed with finding her. Krillin could understand that, he was worried too.

Still, there was a bright side to the situation, they had a dragonball. Of course, they should have had two dragonballs, but Vegeta had prevented that. A little while earlier Vegeta had shown up, demanding that they hand the dragonball over.

He was soon joined by yet another fighter, a fighter whom Vegeta had referred to as Zarbon. Bulma had been all starry-eyed over the green-haired fighter but the man had eyes for only one thing, killing Vegeta. He would probably have stolen their dragonball afterwards, if Vegeta hadn't killed him instead.

Vegeta had taken the dragonball and had left without harming them, miraculously, and not longer after Gohan had returned with another dragonball, the one that had been at the bottom of the lake. Krillin knew that they had to leave as Vegeta now knew where the cave was, but Gohan had been reluctant.

He had told Krillin that Chiara had run into Vegeta at some point, Vegeta had boasted about it and he wanted to wait for his twin to show up, but Krillin realized they just couldn't stay.

"We have to wait for her, Krillin," Gohan had insisted.

"I'm not too happy about leaving without her either, Gohan, but right now we don't have a choice," Krillin had argued. "We can't stay here, not now that our hiding spot is no longer secret."

It had taken a while longer to convince Gohan that yes, he had to come with them, and no, he could not stay there to wait for Chiara on his own, but in the end Gohan went along. And so they were now in the canyon, the canyon that would be Bulma's base camp for much of the Namek adventure.

"I bet you anything Vegeta won't be able to see us here," Krillin suddenly said, wanting to break the silence.

"Maybe he wont see us down here, but I bet he can smell us," Bulma sneered.

Krillin laughed and said, "I know what you mean, I'd like to have a bath myself, but I guess we'll just have to tough it out."

Bulma huffed and turned away while Krillin looked at Gohan, still standing there, staring at the sky. He decided to try and lift the boy's spirits.

"You know," Krillin said. "I'm sure Chiara's just fine and waiting for us somewhere. I bet she'll swear at us for abandoning her."

"Really?" Gohan asked hopefully, before saying, "I would give anything to see Chiara right now, even if she will swear at us."

"I wouldn't mind seeing her myself right now," Bulma cut in. "Maybe she can explain to me why we're stuck in a canyon with just one dragonball."

"Come on Bulma, so things haven't really gone as planned, you shouldn't just give up." Krillin said.

"Who says I'm giving up?" Bulma snapped. "I'm just saying…maybe she can make some sense of all this nonsense."

Krillin decided to keep quiet after that, arguing with Bulma wasn't something he was good at, in fact, he'd rather bite his tongue off than to argue with Bulma. Krillin sighed, he really was very worried about Chiara. He didn't wanna tell Gohan this but she was all alone, had been alone for some time and she might easily be in some kind of trouble.

He cared for her deeply, as he did for Gohan, and the last thing he wanted was to see her get hurt. '_And besides the fact that I care for her, Goku will kill me if I let anything happen to either of his children,' _Krillin thought. '_And I would certainly never forgive myself.'_

Note: After reading this chapter, I don't want anyone to think Chiara's going to turn into a superhero, having had her sleeping powers awoken and having defeated two of Frieza's henchmen. She's not going to miraculously defeat all the bad guys. Having her sleeping powers awoken will only serve to keep her strong in the adversity to come and defeating Frieza's henchmen was a lucky break, so don't get too turned off by it, it won't last. As for the dates, I know time passes quickly in this story, but don't worry, it'll all work out.


	11. Chapter 11: Damsel in Distress

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XI: Damsel in Distress._

_762 A.D. December the 23rd._

Bulma screamed as she fell down from the sky. '_This is it,'_ she thought, '_beautiful heroic girl dies while trying to save the world_.' She screamed again as a very large Pteradactyl came swooping towards her threatening to eat her. Bulma squeezed her eyes shut.

"Goodbye, world," she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly she felt a small and soft arm around her waist. She felt herself hovering in the air only to plunge towards the ground, the pressure still in place. Bulma opened her eyes to see what was going on but was immediately blinded by a large fireball taking the Pteradactyl out.

Bulma squeezed her eyes shut again and waited for what she believed was the inevitable. She was more than a little surprised to find her feet softly touching the ground. The arm around her waist disappeared and on instinct Bulma ran away from her saviour, crawling into a corner. Footsteps approached and Bulma cowered.

"Don't come near me," she yelled, "or I'll be forced to defend myself."

When the footsteps continued to come closer she started crawling up the side of the mountain only to slide down again. Bulma could clearly hear someone chuckle behind her. The voice she heard next wasn't that of the monster she had expected, it was a soft voice, the voice of a girl.

"Bulma, it's me," the voice said.

Bulma frowned and turned around. She looked up and saw a very small, black haired, dark eyed young girl standing in front of her, her arms crossed in front of her chest. A smile appeared on Bulma's face as relief surged through her. '_She's okay,' _she thought. '_She's really okay.' _Then Bulma's smile turned into a scowl and she jumped up.

"Well, it's about time you showed up," Bulma yelled. "Where on Earth have you been?"

"Not on Earth, Bulma, on Namek," Chiara chirped.

Chiara motioned for Bulma to get on her back and she did. Chiara took Bulma back to where she had been, all the equipment was still there. Bulma dusted off her clothes and walked after Chiara, who was on her way to the equipment, wondering what it all was.

"Would you mind finally telling me where you've been?" Bulma asked angrily.

"It's a long story," Chiara said.

"I have the time," Bulma snapped.

"I'll tell you in a minute," Chiara said, veering away from the dragonball on the ground without even thinking about it and heading for the equipment.

"I've been worried sick about you, the least you can do is tell me how you are," Bulma said, a little softer.

"I'm fine, Bulma, I really am," Chiara said, rummaging through some things.

Chiara was about to grab something that looked very complicated when Bulma grabbed it away and set it down somewhere else, a warning look on her face. Chiara smiled sheepishly and backed away a little.

"So, where are you going now?" Bulma asked.

"I don't know," Chiara said, before realizing what was missing. "Where are Krillin and Gohan?"

"Hmph. Don't talk to me about those jerks," Bulma said, crossing her arms. "They went off to find some Guru guy."

"Don't call my brother a jerk," Chiara warned, before thoughtfully adding, "If they are going to find Guru, they should be okay. They can get help from the Nameks to find the dragonballs."

"Are you going to find them?" Bulma asked.

"No, I'd probably only be in the way. I think I'll stay here for a while," Chaira said.

"Really?" Bulma said, cheering up. "You mean I wont be alone anymore?"

Chiara smiled and shrugged. "Do you have any food?. I haven't eaten in hours."

Bulma huffed and said, "You're far too much like your father." But she got out several packages that contained food and made Chiara a meal.

It wasn't long before the videophone lying next to the chair Chiara was sitting in started crackling and Bulma quickly picked it up. It was Bulma's father. Chiara listened to what the older Briefs had to say but the man had barely spoken when he was apparently torn away and replaced by Son ChiChi.

"Bulma, where are my children?" ChiChi yelled.

"Chiara is right here," Bulma said, a little annoyed at being yelled at.

"You put her on this very minute," ChiChi demanded.

Bulma gave Chiara the videophone and Chiara looked down at the screen to see her mom's face staring back at her.

"Chiara, are you okay, sweetheart?" a worried ChiChi asked.

"I'm fine, mom," Chiara assured. "Really."

ChiChi looked relieved for a moment before her face hardened and she started yelling.

"Son Chiara, you are in a world of trouble, young lady. When your father found out you had left, he was furious," ChiChi yelled. "You wait until you get home, you'll be grounded until the next century."

Chiara swallowed hard as she listened to her mother ranting on about how much trouble she was in.

"Are you listening to me?" ChiChi yelled.

"Yes, mom," Chiara said quickly. "But I have to go now, I have to go find Gohan."

ChiChi immediately stopped yelling and worriedly asked, "Where is Gohan?. Is he okay?"

"I'm sure he is, but I better go," Chiara said. "Bye, mom."

Chiara thrust the microphone at Bulma and quickly walked some distance away from her. ChiChi started yelling at Bulma for letting Chiara come and letting Gohan get into trouble and just as Bulma started yelling back, the radio quit working.

"Oh no," Bulma cried. "Hello, hello."

Chiara ignored Bulma's attempts to reestablish contact and focused on finding her twin. When she couldn't find his powerlevel, she made an unhappy sound that resembled a whine, and decided to just go looking for him. She took off when she was stopped by Bulma holding onto her foot.

"And where do you think you're going?" Bulma asked, a scowl on her face.

"To find Gohan," Chiara said.

"On your own?. Leaving me on my own again?" Bulma asked furiously.

"I'll be alright, and so will you be," Chiara insisted. "But I need to go find Gohan, I haven't seen him for so long."

Bulma's expression softened slightly as she said, "I understand that, but don't you think we should stay together?"

Chiara thought for a moment and then shook her head. "We'll both be fine." She pulled her foot away from Bulma and smiled hesitantly at Bulma's furious expression. "Besides, I'll be back before you know it."

Chiara took off, leaving an angry Bulma standing there.

"Back before you know it," Bulma repeated to herself, before shouting after Chiara, "I've heard that before."

But Chiara was already gone, gone to find her twin brother at last.

Note: A short one this time, but at least she's been reunited with one of her companions… for a while.


	12. Chapter 12: The Ginyu Force

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence.

_Chapter XII: The Ginyu Force._

_762 A.D. December the 24th._

Ever since Chiara had hidden herself on the spaceship so that she could go to Namek too, things hadn't been easy. Chiara had been sure that things couldn't get any worse than they had already been, but she was wrong. Things got worse when she met the Ginyu Force.

The Ginyu Force consisted of five very different fighters, big and small. Frieza had called on them to take out all opposition, get the dragonballs and bring Vegeta back alive. The Force was now on its way to the dragonballs. The dragonballs had been gathered by Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan, who formed an uneasy alliance between them.

None of this was known to Chiara but when she saw the Ginyu Force coming, she did know she had to hide, and quick. In her fright she had powered up without knowing it. It was the power-up that gave her away as Recoome sensed that there was something up ahead.

"Huh?" Recoome said.

He stopped flying, causing the others to stop as well. Recoome turned to the head of their group.

"Hey, Captain. There's something up ahead, I think it went into that valley over there," Recoome said.

Captain Ginyu turned to look down into the valley that Recoome had pointed out, wondering what it might have been.

"I can vaguely sense something," Ginyu said. "What do you think it was, Recoome?"

"I'm not sure but I'd say it's worth a look," Recoome said.

"How do you know it wasn't just an animal?" Guldo asked.

"I don't," Recoome retorted. "I'm just saying it's worth a closer look."

"I say it's a waste of our precious time," Guldo said. "It's just an animal."

Recoome turned his scouter on and looked down, then he smiled and turned to Guldo. "Alright, wiseguy, you think you're so smart. You tell me this. What kind of animal has a five thousand powerlevel?"

"Huh?" Ginyu said. "A five thousand powerlevel. I would say that's definitely worth a looksee. Alright, guys. Let's go see what it was."

The Ginyu Force flew down into the valley as one to see what it had been. They landed and looked around, not seeing anything.

"I told you it was a waste of our time," Guldo said smugly.

"I don't get it, I could have sworn I sensed something," Recoome said, scratching his head.

"I don't seem to be able to pick anything up," Ginyu said, before reaching for his scouter. "Let's see."

He pressed the button and smirked when he realized that their find was hiding behind some rocks.

"Right there," he said, raising his hand and destroying the rocks with a small beam.

Chiara jumped up and immediately hid behind another rock but she knew she had been seen. She could hear them laughing.

"Very interesting," Ginyu said. "Burter."

"I'm on it," Burter said before disappearing and reappearing in front of Chiara.

Chiara looked all the way up as Burter looked all the way down. Chiara swallowed hard when she saw the very big and obviously very powerful warrior stand before her. She yelped when he grabbed her arm and pulled her up. He carried her with him and dumped her none too gentle in front of the others.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Ginyu asked.

'_Where have I heard that before?' _Chiara thought wildly as she began inching away from them.

"What was that about it just being an animal, Guldo?" Recoome asked.

"Alright, so I was wrong," Guldo huffed. "Big deal."

Recoome laughed and Guldo growled but Ginyu intervened before a fight could begin.

"Come on, guys, don't argue. We have much more important fish to fry, much smaller fish."

The Ginyu Force turned to Chiara and laughed. Chiara shivered in fear and tried to make herself blend in with the mountain wall behind her.

"I can't quite make out what she is though," Ginyu said as he looked at her.

"She looks like she's lost to me," Recoome said.

"Is that what you are, little one?" Ginyu asked, grinning at Chiara. "Lost?"

Chiara's mind was all but frozen in terror but she managed to stay calm enough to answer.

"Yeah, that's what I am. Lost. But I can find my way on my own," Chiara said as she began to edge along the mountain wall, away from them.

'_Keep going,' _she thought, '_Just keep going.'_ But before she could walk away, Burter was standing in front of her. When she turned around, she almost walked straight into Captain Ginyu. She soon found herself surrounded by all five of the members of the Ginyu Force. She desperately tried to fly up but Burter put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back to the ground again.

"Before you go," Ginyu said in a deceptively benevolent voice. "we were wondering if maybe you could help us?"

"Help you?" Chiara asked nervously. "With what?"

"We're looking for the Namek Dragonballs that Vegeta stole from Frieza, you wouldn't happen to know anything about the whereabouts of those dragonballs, would you?" Ginyu asked.

"Dragonballs?" Chiara asked, trying to look clueless. "What are those?"

Ginyu chuckled before harshly grabbing hold of Chiara's chin and forcing her head all the way back so she could look him in the eye.

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me?" Ginyu asked.

"I'm not, I wouldn't," Chiara said quickly.

"So you know nothing about these dragonballs?" Ginyu asked.

"N-no," Chiara stuttered.

"What's your name, kid?" Ginyu asked, grinning.

"Chiara," she said softly.

"Tell you what, Chiara, we're going to look for the dragonballs and we're taking you with us. If it turns out that you were telling us the truth, and you don't know anything about the dragonballs, we'll let you go," Ginyu said with a grin that told Chiara that he was lying. "If, however, it turns out you're lying..."

Ginyu trailed off but Chiara didn't need him to finish his sentence, she knew what would happen. She closed her eyes and thought, '_Oh Kami, help me.'_ Recoome reached for Chiara but she jumped back.

"I can fly myself," Chiara said.

"Captain?" Recoome asked.

"Fine by me, but you better behave," Ginyu warned.

Recoome stepped away from Chiara and to the rest of the Force. They spread up and stood in one line for a Ginyu Force pose. While they were posing, Chiara saw a huge opening and wanted to fly up but Ginyu grabbed her by the back of her shirt before she could even move.

"You're not going anywhere, little girl," Ginyu said.

"I wasn't trying to get away, honest I wasn't," Chiara lied.

"I bet you weren't," Ginyu said sarcastically. "Either way you should know better. Alright, guys, let's go look for Vegeta and those other two squirts."

'_Oh good Kami,' _Chiara thought, '_he's talking about Gohan and Krillin.'_ She was snapped out of her thoughts when Captain Ginyu squatted down and his huge head came closer to hers.

"Remember, little one. Behave," he said, smiling maliciously.

The Ginyu Force flew up and Chiara could do nothing but fly with them. While flying, she was constantly looking for an opening or a distraction she could use to get away. When all five of them weren't looking, she flew the other way as fast as she could.

Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough as Burter appeared in front of her. She hit the brakes and turned around to fly the other way but only managed to fly straight into Recoome.

"Hi there, stranger," Recoome mocked.

"Naughty girl," Burter added.

Chiara didn't get the chance to try and get away from Recoome and Burter as she was suddenly backhanded across the face by Captain Ginyu. She fell down but was caught by Jeice, who pushed her towards Ginyu, who grabbed hold of her hair and held her up by it.

"Try that again and I'll break both of you arms, got it?" Ginyu yelled in her face.

Chiara nodded faintly and she was released. She just barely managed to stay in the air as her sight slowly began to blur.

"You're not even going to get the chance to try it again. Recoome, you hang onto her for the rest of the way," Ginyu ordered.

"No," Chiara cried. "I wont do it again, I swear."

But her protests were ignored as Recoome grabbed hold of her and held her tightly, making escape impossible. As they flew off again, Chiara started trying to get away. She struggled against Recoome's muscular arm but it was no use. Recoome tightened his arm and Chiara cried out, tears rolling down her small face.

"Don't do that again if you know what's good for you," Recoome warned.

Chiara didn't answer but she had learned her lesson, she wouldn't try to escape again.

They had been flying for quite some time when Captain Ginyu announced that they were getting closer. They started flying lower to the ground and Chiara's heart pounding in her chest, hard enough to be heard by everyone, she was sure of it. Her brother and friend were out there and the Ginyu Force was going to hurt them. Suddenly, the Ginyu Force landed and Chiara found herself facing Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta.

"Chiara?" Krillin said in disbelief just as Gohan cried, "Chi."

"Figures," Vegeta sneered.

Chiara barely heard their cries, she was so scared. What was the Ginyu Force going to do?. Would they take the dragonballs and just leave?. Chiara's frantic thoughts were interrupted when a furious Captain Ginyu turned to her.

"So you don't know anything about the dragonballs, but you do know them?" Ginyu snarled.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?" Chiara tried anxiously.

"You little liar," Ginyu yelled.

Recoome tightened his arm again and broke three more of Chiara's ribs. She screamed as Recoome dropped her to the floor, causing her to land flat on her stomach. Gohan cried out as Krillin gasped. Chiara tried to get up but Recoome put his foot on her back.

"Leave her alone," Gohan yelled.

"She's just a little girl," Krillin yelled. "What has she ever done to you?"

Recoome released Chiara by lifting his foot and she immediately crawled away from him. She crawled to her brother and friend standing there, who immediately dropped down on their knees to help her. While Gohan and Krillin fussed over Chiara, Ginyu captured the seven dragonballs. Vegeta tried to keep one of them away from them by throwing it away as far as he could but Burter was too fast and he got it anyway. Ginyu levitated the dragonballs in the air to take them with him.

"Keep Vegeta alive and take the rest of them out," Ginyu said. "And make the little girl suffer the most."

Gohan immediately stepped in front of Chiara to protect her as Captain Ginyu flew off to take the dragonballs to Frieza.

"Just try it. No one touches my sister," Gohan said before sending '_Don't worry, Chi, they won't hurt you.'_

And so the fight against the Ginyu Force began. Guldo was to be the first one to fight and he took on Gohan and Krillin as Chiara looked on. Gohan and Krillin were much stronger than Guldo, especially when they fought together, but Guldo cheated, if it can be called that in battle. He used his time freeze ability to stop them in their tracks but just as they were about to get stabbed by a tree, Vegeta stepped in and killed Guldo by decapitating him.

Note: So Chiara is finally back with her family, the fight with The Ginyu Force has started and… I hope you like it. In chapter twelve, and other chapters, I wrote about Recoome. I am aware that he may seem a vaguely more intelligent than he should, but I found it difficult to write him differently, so there you are.


	13. Chapter 13: Do The Impossible

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence obviously, but not much else.

_Chapter XIII: Do The Impossible._

_762 A.D. December the 24th._

The Ginyu Force was furious after Vegeta killed Guldo. They did a very peculiar version of Rock, Paper, Scissors and it was decided that Recoome would be allowed to kill them all, obviously having forgotten that Vegeta was supposed to be kept alive.

Vegeta fought Recoome first and although the fight was long, he lost in the end. He was hurt badly and he was down on his knees when Recoome charged to finish him off, but Krillin interfered. He was similarly disposed off.

"Krillin," Chiara and Gohan cried at the same time.

They both took several steps back as Recoome turned to them. Gohan and Chiara looked at eachother, then at Recoome and then at Krillin and Vegeta, the monk and the Saiyan were down and couldn't help them. They were on their own.

"What are we going to do, Chi?" Gohan whispered desperately. "We can't beat him, he's too strong."

"If we're going down, we're going down fighting," Chiara whispered back.

Chiara turned to Recoome, wincing when her ribs protested, and raised her voice as she spoke to Gohan, "What do you say, Gohan?. Shall we teach this dumb bully a lesson in manners?"

"Let's do it, Chi," Gohan agreed, getting ready for a fight.

"What are those two up to?" Vegeta said to himself from where he was crouching on the ground, still very injured. "They can't fight him."

"Gohan, Chiara," Krillin called from where he was laying on the ground. "Don't do it."

Recoome laughed, "If you two brats wanna fight me, that's fine by me."

"Hey Recoome," Jeice called. "Be gentle, eh. Wouldn't want them to start crying."

Burter, Jeice and Recoome laughed at that. Gohan and Chiara growled at that.

"Will you just fight us already?" Chiara yelled, wincing as her ribs once again protested.

"Well, all right," Recoome said. "But don't go running to your mommy when I hurt you."

Recoome suddenly found himself flying backwards. He crashed onto the ground, his face throbbing and another tooth missing from his mouth.

"Don't talk about our mom.." Chiara warned, just barely stopping herself before she said 'mommy'. "She has nothing to do with this."

Recoome slowly raised himself to his feet and glared down at the small girl standing only ten yards away.

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, little girl," Recoome said.

"This is not good," Vegeta said to himself.

Recoome rushed at Chiara but she suddenly disappeared.

"Huh?" Recoome said as he looked around.

"What?" Burter frowned.

"Where did she go?" Jeice asked.

They soon got the answer to that question as Chiara reappeared behind Recoome and she knocked him down with an energy blast. Recoome got up and flew at Chiara again but this time, he was assailed from the side by Gohan and he found himself skidding over the ground before hitting a rock protruding from the ground. Recoome got up, furious with himself for letting them get the better of him, and spat on the ground.

"I've had enough of this," Recoome said.

The fight that followed was a hard fought one on Gohan and Chiara's part but they just weren't strong enough to beat Recoome. Chiara hit Recoome with another energy blast, sending him to the ground, his body creating a deep hole, but it just wasn't enough as he jumped up and landed in front of Chiara, his face right before hers.

"Boo," he shouted, before striking her down with his elbow.

She fell back and hit the ground hard. '_Great, now she can't even get up anymore,' _Vegeta thought from where he was watching. But Vegeta was wrong, Chiara got up slowly and looked at Recoome while holding her now broken nose.

"Chi," Gohan called, from where he was trying to get up.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Recoome asked mockingly. "Are you hurt?"

"You jerk," Chiara swore, blanching at the word. If her mother could have heard her say that.

Recoome seemed to read her mind as he chuckled and said, "Naughty girl, what would your mommy say if she heard you say that?"

"I told you not to talk about my mother," Chiara shouted.

Recoome smirked and mocked, "What are you gonna do to stop me?"

Chiara growled at that, but she didn't know if she could keep going. In fact, she knew she couldn't. Recoome laughed again when Chiara stayed silent.

"There is nothing you can do. I'll tell you what, you've given me some nice entertainment, I'll give you and the other squirt a chance to escape," Recoome smirked. "I'll count to ten and if you're gone by then, we'll let you go."

"As if you can even count that high," Chiara snapped at him. "Just stop talking, and start fighting. I'm not giving up, and neither is Gohan."

Recoome glared at Chiara for a moment and nodded. "Alright, but don't say I didn't give you a chance."

In the mean time on planet Kaio, King Kai was paying close attention to what was happening on Namek. Tien, Chao-Su, Yamcha and Piccolo were standing behind him.

"Oh no," King Kai said.

"What's wrong, King Kai?" Yamcha asked.

"Krillin,Vegeta and Gohan are down, Chiara is all but beaten and she just made the mistake of her life," King Kai said.

"What did she do?" Tien asked.

"Recoome offered to let her and Gohan escape, but she said no and now she's going to fight him again," King Kai said.

"What?" Tien cried.

"Is she crazy?" Yamcha asked.

"Why would she do that?" Chao-Su asked. "Recoome is stronger than her, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. Not to mention five times her size," King Kai said. "I hope she has some kind of plan because if she doesn't, things don't look too good for her."

Piccolo clenched his teeth and growled. "What is she up to?" he whispered.

Piccolo had been Chiara and Gohan's trainer for a year and during that period, he had come to care for them both. Now, one of them had been beaten and the other one was probably about to be. He closed his eyes and resigned himself to just praying things would work out.

In the mean time back on Namek, Recoome laughed as he stood before Chiara. Krillin squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, still laying on his stomach on the ground.

"No Chiara, don't do it. You and Gohan need to get out of here," he called but Chiara ignored him.

"Ready for your last stand?" Recoome called.

"Yes," Chiara all but yelled, trying to suppress her fear.

"This is going to be great," Jeice enthused.

"Beautiful," Burter said laughing.

'_Great, she'll be stomped into the ground and then it'll be our turn,' _Vegeta thought from where he was still crouching on the ground.

Chiara took one last look at her brother before she took a deep breath and she and Recoome stormed at eachother. Recoome was intending on hitting Chiara full on but Chiara wasn't intending on returning the favour. She took a feet first slide through his legs, leaving him to wonder where she had gone, and then gave him a very vicious elbow right in the neck, all but immobilizing him.

Jeice and Burter winced visibly, Vegeta grinned briefly and Krillin and Gohan cheered as best as they could, still being injured. As Recoome grasped his neck, Chiara elbowed him in the stomach. He bent over in pain and Chiara once again elbowed him in the neck.

He fell down to his knees and Chiara stepped in front of him. Recoome straightened and received an energy ball in the face causing him to fly back and crash into the mountain. Chiara was breathing heavily by then and wasn't anywhere near ready when Recoome came charging at her. He beat her down as Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta were forced to watch.

On planet Kaio, King Kai shook his head in consternation.

"King Kai, what happened?" Tien asked.

"Did she do it?" Chao-Su asked meekly.

"No," King Kai said sadly. "She did have a plan and it worked out for a little while but despite her valiant effort, Recoome is just too strong."

"Oh no," Chao-Su said.

"Chiara," Tien said, looking worried.

Piccolo clenched his fists and closed his eyes, his teeth gritted. Frustration coursed through him but he knew there just wasn't anything he could do.

Back on planet Namek, Recoome had placed one of his feet on a bleeding and beaten Chiara's throat.

"You show her who's boss, Recoome," Jeice called.

Chiara choked and sputtered as she tried to desperately pry Recoome's foot away. Suddenly the pressure was lifted from her throat and she could breathe again. She coughed up blood as she blurrily looked around to see what had happened.

Gohan was standing in front of her, one arm around his ribs while the other was up in front of him. Recoome proceeded to beat on both Saiyan children. He ruthlessly ran them into the ground and had a great time doing it.

"These two are fun," he said to Jeice and Burter. "Especially the girl, she's feisty."

"Well, leave something for us," Burter called back.

"Don't worry, I wont kill them," he called to Burter, before adding in a whisper, "yet."

Chiara slowly and painfully pulled herself out of the hole she had been lying in.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," Recoome mocked.

Chiara turned around just in time to see Recoome's fist coming towards her face. She was knocked down again and the Ginyu Force members laughed. Chiara's vision was being invaded by black spots as she got up one last time. She never even saw Recoome's blast hit her and she never felt herself being knocked into a nearby mountain. The mountain collapsed, covering her in debri.

"Chiara," Gohan yelled as he lay on the floor.

He clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. '_No,' _he yelled mentally, '_not my sister.'_

"Please be alright, Chi," Gohan croaked in a whisper before getting up for one last try against Recoome.

Recoome beat him down again and this time Gohan didn't get up, he had nothing left. Recoome went to kill them all but they were interrupted by the arrival of a long awaited fighter. His powerlevel stopped them all in their tracks and by the time they composed themselves, the fighter had arrived on the scene. He came flying by and Recoome was left spinning on his feet.

On Kaio, King Kai immediately told everyone.

"Goku has arrived," King Kai said, a smile on his face.

Chao-Su, Tien and Yamcha cheered and Piccolo grinned.

Note: I hope no one was expecting Chiara to actually beat anyone here, lol, that would be impossible. No, she fought hard but to no avail, which in my opinion is as it should be. How lame would it have been if she had actually beaten Recoome when not even Vegeta could do that. Anyway, enough of my ranting. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	14. Chapter 14: Goku Has Arrived

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XIV: Goku Has Arrived._

_762 A.D. December the 24th._

Goku fed Gohan a senzu bean and when Gohan woke up and saw his father, he was thrilled. Seconds later he jumped up to his feet and bolted to a pile of debri. He dug around in it crying and calling Chiara's name. When Goku realized what was up, he helped Gohan clear the debri.

Goku unearthed his daughter and gently picked her up. He cradled her in his arms, his anger mounting as he saw her wounds, and gingerly fed her a senzu bean while Gohan anxiously looked on. Goku massaged Chiara's throat to help her swallow.

"Come on, little one," Goku whispered.

Chiara's consciousness came back full force because of the senzu bean and she went from half dead to perfectly healthy in seconds. She blinked and stared up at the person holding her, thinking he looked an awful lot like her daddy. Then her mind caught up with her body and she realized it _was_ her daddy.

"Daddy," she cried, jumping up and hugging him.

Goku chuckled and hugged her to him. After a moment Chiara broke the hug and hesitantly looked into her father's eyes.

"Daddy, I'm sorry..." Chiara began.

"We'll talk about it later," Goku cut in, his eyes telling her that he wasn't happy with her.

Goku helped Chiara to his feet and dusted both his children off when he saw the state they were in, jokingly saying, "Gosh, your mom would shoot me if she saw how dirty you two are."

"Daddy, they're standing right there," Chiara said, her voice trembling.

"And they're really strong," Gohan added, his voice trembling as well.

"I know, but I'm here now and everything will be fine. You just leave everything to me, okay?" Goku said.

Chiara and Gohan glanced at eachother and then looked at their father.

"Okay," Chiara said.

"Yeah," Gohan agreed.

Goku and his twin children made their way to Krillin.

"So you two roughed up that big guy a little, huh?" Goku asked.

"More like he roughed us up a lot, not even Vegeta could beat him," Gohan said.

"I don't understand," Goku said, kneeling down in front of Krillin and feeding him a senzu bean. "Why is Vegeta fighting on our side?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Krillin said as he got up.

"Okay, just hold still for a minute," Goku said, placing his hand on his bald friend's head.

After reading Krillin's mind and getting himself updated on things, he removed his hand from Krillin's head.

"I see, I understand now," Goku said, before turning to Vegeta. "Hey Vegeta, catch."

Goku threw a senzu bean at Vegeta, which Recoome attempted to catch with his mouth, and Vegeta caught the bean and ate it. He got up, staring at his hands in wonder.

"Goku, are you crazy?. You can't trust him," Krillin cried.

"Gosh, daddy," Gohan said.

"I understand," Chiara said.

The three of them turned to Chiara and she blushed under all the attention.

"Vegeta's with us now, whether he likes it or not," Chiara said. "He's no longer our enemy because we now have a greater enemy to worry about."

Vegeta glared at Chiara when she said that but said nothing.

"Besides, if it weren't for Vegeta, we'd all be dead now," Chiara added, shuddering at the thought.

"That's right," Goku said, fondly ruffling his daughter's hair. "There is one thing though."

"What's that, pal?" Krillin asked.

"I now know what happened with you two," he said, looking at Krillin and Gohan. "But why couldn't I see you in any of it?" He turned to Chiara.

"Ah," Chiara said, a proud smile on her face. "That's because I've been by myself."

"I see, let's see what you've been up to then," Goku said, placing his large hand on Chiara's small head.

Chiara giggled as Goku's hand covered her entire head. Goku chuckled and ruffled her hair and Gohan and Krillin laughed as well.

"Now, let daddy concentrate," Goku said.

Goku closed his eyes and focused on Chiara's mind. He saw her being thrown from the ship, fighting Vegeta, Zarbon, Dodoria and two of Frieza's henchmen, finding Bulma, meeting the Ginyu Force and being forced to come with them and then fighting the Ginyu Force.

Recoome looked on from a distance as Goku read Chiara's mind.

"I can't believe this," he said, scratching his head. "They're acting like they're on a picnic or something."

When Goku was done, he smiled at Chiara and went to say something but Gohan cut him off.

"I can't believe you went through all that," he said in awe. "You went through so much more than we did."

Goku and Chiara looked at Gohan and he shrugged sheepishly. "I was watching too. Mental link, you know."

Chiara smiled, blushing at the praise, and said, "I suppose I have been through alot."

"You have been," Goku agreed, placing one hand on each of his children's heads. "I'm proud of both of you."

Goku then fought Recoome and beat him with just one elbow to the stomach. He then fought Burter and Jeice, who thought that if they worked together they would be able to beat him. Goku took Burter out and Jeice fled, swearing they hadn't see the end of him. Vegeta then killed Recoome and Burter. Goku scolded him for it but Vegeta merely scoffed and explained that it had to be done or they would live to kill another day. Now that the better part of the Ginyu Force was dead and Jeice had fled, Krillin and Gohan started talking about what had happened before Goku had shown up.

"You should have seen Chiara, dad, she was great," Gohan said. "Pow, wham, boom, knocking out all the bad guys."

"Yes," Vegeta spoke up. "Pity your daddy made all of our problems worse."

"And why is that, Vegeta?" Krillin asked.

"He let Jeice go, who will now come back with Captain Ginyu," Vegeta said.

"Oh no," Gohan said as Chiara swallowed hard. She remembered Captain Ginyu all too well.

"That could mean we're in deep trouble," Krillin said.

"Well, what was daddy supposed to do?. Kill him?" Chiara asked Vegeta.

"Yes," Vegeta snapped at her.

"My daddy is not a murderer," Chiara all but shouted.

"No, he's a fool and he's playing with my life," Vegeta yelled.

"You're only saying that because you're angry he's stronger than you are," Chiara yelled back.

"You little..." Vegeta began, pulling his hand back to slap her.

A very strong hand stopped his from descending and Vegeta found himself looking in the eyes of an angry Goku.

"Back off, Vegeta," Goku warned. "I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to."

Vegeta wrenched his hand away from Goku's grip and reluctantly backed away.

"So, now what are we going to do, huh?" Vegeta barked. "Jeice is going to get reinforcements and Captain Ginyu took my dragonballs."

"They're not your dragonballs," Chiara muttered.

"What was that, runt?" Vegeta yelled.

"Nothing, you big jerk," Chiara said, all but hiding behind her daddy's leg.

Vegeta fumed as he looked at the small, black-haired girl standing there, her stance scared and uncertain but her face defiant. He didn't say anything as he turned away and walked off, seething. Chiara felt a large hand ruffle her hair and she looked up at her father.

"Hey, you," Goku said.

"Hi, daddy," Chiara enthused.

"Maybe it's better if you lay off Vegeta for a while. I get the feeling we're gonna need him in the battle to come," Goku said.

"Okay," Chiara agreed before hesitantly saying, "Daddy?"

"Yeah, sweety?" Goku asked, squatting down in front of her.

"Are you angry with me?" Chiara asked.

Goku sighed and was silent for a moment before he said, "I'm disappointed. I thought I was clear when I told you that you were not allowed to go."

Tears welled up in Chiara's eyes and her chin trembled. "I only wanted to help."

"I know, sweetheart, but you shouldn't have disobeyed me like that," Goku said. "This is a dangerous place to be, and it's exactly where I didn't want you."

"But Gohan got to go," Chiara argued in a whisper, tears now streaming down her face.

"And I wasn't happy about him going, either, but one of you needed to go, and isn't it true that Gohan is stronger than you?" Goku asked gently.

Chiara took a deep breath and nodded.

"And the next time I tell you you can't do something, you won't do it?"

Chiara took another quivering breath and shook her head.

"Okay. Come here, you," Goku said, drawing her into his arms.

Chiara silently cried into his shoulder as he held her. When her tears abated, Goku set her down again and she sniffed.

"Daddy?" Chiara asked again.

"Yes?" Goku asked with a smile.

"Are you really proud of me?" Chiara asked softly, hesitantly.

"I sure am," Goku said, his smile growing bigger.

Chiara smiled and raised her chin up, her daddy was proud of her and that was all she needed.

It wasn't long before Jeice came back with Captain Ginyu. Ginyu laughed as he saw Goku standing there.

"If this guy's going to beat us, then I'm a frog," Captain Ginyu said.

"And the difference between you and a frog would be?" Gohan all but shouted.

Krillin and Chiara laughed at that while Vegeta grinned. Captain Ginyu was very angry but before he could say anything, Goku cut in.

"Gohan, Chiara, Krillin," Goku said. "I want the three of you to leave."

"Leave?" Chiara asked. "Where are we going to go?"

"Go find the dragonballs," Goku said, softer so only they could hear.

Chiara went to say something but Goku turned and looked at her and she closed her mouth again. She reluctantly let Gohan draw her away from where her father would be fighting and she, Gohan and Krillin went off to find the dragonballs.

Note: There you have it, the gang is finally reunited, but you just know there's more trouble to come, lol.


	15. Chapter 15: Daddy?

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None whatsoever.

_Chapter XV: Daddy?_

_762 A.D. December the 24th._

Chiara was worried. Not that that was anything new, since arriving on Namek she had been worried countless times, but this time she was worried about her daddy. She had faith in him, she really did, but Captain Ginyu was the leader of the Ginyu Force and didn't that mean that he was stronger than the other members?. Possibly stronger than all of them combined.

She prayed that he would be alright. After all, what would she and Gohan do without their father?. She sighed as she followed Krillin and Gohan, who were focusing on finding the dragonballs. They had collected the dragonball radar from Bulma and were now heading in the direction where the dragonballs were located.

Not that Chiara cared, she disliked being near the dragonballs. She had never really understood why, she just did. There was something about them that made her feel bad, so she steered clear of them. She would follow Krillin and Gohan and let them handle the dragonballs.

Chiara's thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly found herself yanked out of the air and pulled behind a rock outcropping.

"What...?" Chiara began but Krillin shushed her.

"Look," he whispered.

Chiara peeked around the corner and saw what Krillin was so apprehensive about. There was a large spaceship standing in the middle of a clearing.

"Do you suppose it's Frieza's spaceship?" Chiara asked.

Krillin nodded grimly. "That could mean that Frieza is close by. Though I don't sense him at the moment."

Gohan was looking at the dragon radar. "Frieza may not be there, but the dragonballs sure are."

"Let's go take a look, but carefully, we don't want to run into Frieza," Krillin said.

Gohan and Chiara both nodded before they headed closer to the ship. Krillin searched for a high powerlevel, or indeed any powerlevel, and found nothing close by.

"Okay, I think we're safe, let's find the dragonballs and get out of here," Krillin said, with a small smile.

"Why don't you and Gohan get the dragonballs?" Chiara said. "I'll wait back there."

Krillin frowned and was about to ask why, when he remembered how she felt about the dragonballs. He wanted to ask her why she hated them so much, but decided there was really no time and merely nodded.

Chiara went back to the outcropping and waited as Krillin and Gohan searched for the dragonballs. As she waited she found her thoughts going back to her father. '_He's probably fighting Captain Ginyu by now,' _she thought anxiously. '_Maybe I should go see how he's doing, just to see.'_

She thought about it for a moment, thoughtfully chewing on her lip. She glanced at where Gohan and Krillin were searching for the dragonballs and then made up her mind. She would just go and see.

Goku coughed as he crouched on the ground, in a body that wasn't even his. He wasn't sure what had happened, it had all happened so fast, but Ginyu had pulled the switch on him and had, along with Jeice, made off with his body.

He tried to get up but the body he was in was too weak, so he went down again. He sensed something nearby, a powerlevel, not a very high powerlevel, but high enough to be threat.

"Oh no," he said aloud. "I can't fight anymore."

The powerlevel was getting closer, in fact it was heading straight for him. Goku looked around to see if there was anywhere he could hide but there wasn't. He was in an open field, no hiding places in sight. He tensed as the powerlevel reached the field and slowly looked up to see who it was.

His eyes opened wide when he saw his tiny daughter hovering in the air, looking at him uncertainly. She didn't seem very scared of him, and he wondered why that was. He was in Captain Ginyu's body, after all. He panicked as he realized she might have run into Ginyu and Jeice, and his eyes quickly scanned over her for any injuries, but there seemed to be none.

Chiara stared at the large, purple Alien crouching down on the ground, but felt only a hint of fear at the sight of him. The simple reason for that was that she knew something was different about him, she didn't understand what it was, but she knew it.

She _had_, in fact, run into her father's body, and she had been on the verge of flying to him when she saw Jeice flying next to him. She had been bewildered and scared, what was her daddy doing with Jeice?. But then she had heard her 'father's' voice and realized that he sounded like Ginyu, so it couldn't be her father. She had stayed hidden and they had passed her, talking and laughing boisterously.

Upon realizing that it hadn't been her father whom she had seen, she realized her daddy was still out there and she had gone to find him. Now there she stood, in front of someone who appeared to be a horrible alien, but who was actually the hero of the Earth…and of Namek when you thought about it.

"Chiara," her father's voice said. "What are you doing here?"

Chiara swallowed hard, he sounded angry. "I came to find you."

"I told you to go with Gohan and Krillin," Goku said angrily.

"I know, but they found the dragonballs, and I don't like the dragonballs," Chiara said. "And I wanted to be here with you."

Goku took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was no sense in getting angry with her, she wouldn't understand why he was angry and she _was_ only trying to help. Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I saw you," Chiara said. "Or at least I thought it was you, until I heard Ginyu's voice."

"You saw them?. Did they see you?. Are you alright?" Goku asked frantically, again scanning her for injuries. Maybe she _was_ injured, maybe he just couldn't see it.

"They didn't see me, I stayed hidden," Chiara said as she slowly came closer.

Goku nodded and sighed in relief, before realizing Ginyu was probably heading for the dragonballs and there was no time to waste. He had to get to Krillin and Gohan. He would need his daughter's help to do it, even if he wanted nothing more than to hide her away until it was all over.

"Listen, Chiara," Goku said. "I need to get to where Gohan and Krillin are, and I'll need your help."

Chiara slowly nodded but swallowed hard as she came closer. He looked so scary.

"I know you're scared, sweetheart, but it's only daddy," Goku said gently. "Even if I don't look like daddy right now."

Chiara had now reached his side and stood next to him, uncertain of what she had to do. To Goku she looked absolutely adorable, and so innocent, he hated that she had to be involved in all of it.

"I'll need you to help me fly, can you do that for me?" Goku asked.

Chiara nodded again and squared her shoulders. Goku smiled proudly as Chiara wrapped his arm around her shoulders and lifted him into the air. She adjusted him in her arms before shooting off into the direction she had come from, off to where Gohan and Krillin were.


	16. Chapter 16: Aftermath of a Battle

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XVI: Aftermath of a Battle._

_762 A.D. December the 24th._

When Chiara had flown to where her father had been fighting, she had thought it was only a short distance. Now, with her father, in a decidedly different and heavier body, hanging from her shoulders, she found it was actually quite far away.

It wasn't that she couldn't carry him, she could and she was proud of it, but his weight was throwing her off balance so she couldn't fly in a straight line. Her father was trying to help her, but he was weak and he was probably going to need all of his energy for the upcoming confrontation.

Chiara was worried about that confrontation. Ginyu now had her daddy's practically unscathed body, and her daddy had a weak, beaten body. Krillin and Gohan couldn't fight Ginyu, nor could she. What were they going to do?. Her thoughts were quickly shoved aside when at last they arrived where they wanted to be.

When they arrived, Goku made Chiara hide and this time she didn't argue, this time she did as she was told.

In future years, Chiara could never swear to know exactly what happened next, no matter how hard she tried to remember. It was all very confusing for her five year old mind, but she thought that it turned out okay when her daddy had his body back, albeit a beaten one thanks to Vegeta, and Vegeta was fighting a near-dying Ginyu. Her daddy then shouted something as Vegeta charged at Ginyu and threw something – was it a frog? – in Vegeta's path and Ginyu apparently switched bodies with the frog.

Chiara hesitantly came out from her hiding place and approached Krillin and Gohan, who were kneeling next to an all but unconscious Goku, and Vegeta, who was standing off to the side. She veered away from the frog that was currently spouting obscenities, even if they couldn't understand them, and joined her brother and friend.

"Daddy?" she said softly as she leaned over her father.

Goku forced his eyelids open and smiled a painful smile at his daughter.

"Hey, sweetheart," he whispered, then cringed.

Chiara bit her lip as tears rose in her eyes. "Will you be alright?"

Goku was thinking of a gentle way of telling her that he was not when Vegeta cut in.

"No, runt, he won't be, not if we don't get him to the rejuvenation tank."

"The rejuvewhat?" Krillin said.

Vegeta glared at Krillin and growled, "Just pick him up and follow me."

Vegeta walked towards the ship and Krillin and Gohan stared after him. It was Chiara who snapped them out of it.

"Come on," she cried. "You heard him, we have to get daddy into that tank thingy."

Krillin and Gohan picked Goku up and carried him to the ship, while Chiara flew ahead. She followed Vegeta into a large chamber where two strange tanks were set up. She walked to one of them and looked in, her mouth hanging open.

"Are you gonna put daddy into one of these?" Chiara asked breathlessly.

"No, I thought I'd shove him in the closet and see how he does then," Vegeta snapped. "Of course he's going in there. Move aside, runt."

Vegeta shoved Chiara out of the way, none too gently, and opened one of the tanks. Chiara, long since used to such gruffness from Piccolo, wasn't fazed and rejoined him at the tank.

"What do all those buttons do?" Chiara asked, genuinely interested.

Vegeta let out an irritable sigh before he picked Chiara up by her collar and carried her over to the other side of the room, just as Krillin and Gohan carried Goku in.

"Hey," Krillin cried. "Put her down, Vegeta."

Krillin's words made Goku's eyes spring open and when he saw Vegeta holding his daughter by the collar, he glared at him, inwardly cursing his own inability to go over and make him put her down.

"Let her go, Vegeta," Goku croaked.

"As you wish," Vegeta smirked, before dropping Chiara onto the ground from quite a height.

Krillin and Gohan cried out indignantly and Goku growled, though it sounded more like a cough. Vegeta ignored them all and walked back to the tank.

"Put him in there, unless you don't mind if he dies," Vegeta said, still smirking.

Chiara had gotten up again, though now she stayed a small distance away from Vegeta. Piccolo used to get irritated with her too, but he was never quite as mean about it.

Krillin and Gohan placed Goku into the tank and Vegeta closed it, pressing several buttons before turning away. Krillin, Gohan and Chiara stared at Goku through the glass of the tank and Goku tried to smile for them but he was in too much pain.

Chiara's eyes filled with tears again at the thought of her daddy in so much pain. Krillin saw and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, sweetheart, it'll be alright," Krillin said. "The tank will make him all better."

Gohan nodded and held Chiara's hand before he noticed Vegeta was walking off into another chamber. Gohan was curious, so after squeezing his sister's hand reassuringly, he followed and Krillin joined him, leaving Chiara alone with her daddy.

Chiara sighed as she sat on her knees in front of the tank, pressing her small face against the tank, hoping that her daddy would be okay. She wished he was okay now, she needed a hug. She also wanted a hug from her mommy but she knew that wasn't going to happen. Her mother was on Earth.

'_Maybe I should have stayed on Earth,' _Chiara thought. '_Then daddy wouldn't have been disappointed. And I'd be with mommy now.' _She thought for a moment. '_But then I wouldn't be with daddy.'_

Which led her to think who she would rather be with. Mommy or daddy. She didn't know, she loved them both so much. She finally gave up thinking, closing her eyes, and as the events of the past days caught up to her, she slowly fell asleep, falling slightly to the side. Goku reached over to where Chiara had her face pressed against the glass and placed his hand over it, closing his eyes as well as he prayed for the safety of both of his children.

Note: (_sigh_) Yeah, I completely skipped over the whole Ginyu fighting in Goku's body thing. Why? Because Chiara wasn't going to be a part of the battle, since she'd only be in the way, and if I wrote about it I'd just be repeating what happens in the actual series. Weak excuse, huh?. Lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy.


	17. Chapter 17: The Ultimate Sacrifice

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: That would be telling, but rest assured there is violence in here.

Note: What's this? An update on Thursday? (pause) Yes, lol. The reason is two-fold really. One part of it is that the only reason I updated once a week was because I wanted to give people time to review and I now realize that if people want to review, they'll do so right after reading the chapter and there's no need to wait a full week. The other part is that if I only update once a week, it'll take me ages to upload this story. So, here it is, my second update this week. I hope it's not too rushed.

_Chapter XVII: The Ultimate Sacrifice._

_762 A.D. December the 24th._

When Gohan and Krillin had returned to the chamber holding the tanks, now wearing Saiyan armor, they had found Chiara sleeping in front of Goku's tank. Krillin had gently picked her up and placed her down more comfortably, wishing he had something to place her on, or a blanket to put over her.

They were now outside trying to figure out why their wishes for falling on deaf ears until they managed to figure out that the wishes had to be spoken in Namek. They knew that they would need a Namek for that and Krillin had agreed to fly to Guru's to find one.

When Krillin had left, Gohan stayed with the dragonballs and Vegeta went in to take a nap, sneering that with Gohan outside guarding the dragonballs, he felt perfectly safe. Vegeta growled as he saw the small form lying close to the tank.

'_Little runt,' _he sneered mentally. '_She better not get in my way again.'_

He sat down in front of the tank that held Goku, who was now unconscious, and set the small alarm clock he had obtained. He set it to a half hour, then settled back. Before he closed his eyes, he turned his head and looked at the half-Saiyan lying next to him.

'_So small and yet so powerful,' _he mused. '_No match for her brother, but still...imagine what proper training could do.'_ Vegeta scoffed. '_Listen to me, as if I actually care.'_

He laughed softly, though why he bothered to keep it down he didn't know. The third-class clown sitting in the tank wouldn't hear it and why would he care if the runt woke up?. He shook his head and forced those thoughts away, before finally closing his eyes, the small alarm clock slowly slipping from his grasp as he fell asleep.

Chiara slowly woke up, less than a few minutes after Vegeta did. She became aware that she was alone, not just in the ship but in the surrounding area as well. She frantically searched for her brother's powerlevel and only calmed down when she found it.

She frowned, he was quite a distance away from the ship and Krillin, Vegeta and another were with him. She got up and dusted herself off, wincing as her back made a popping sound. She looked at her daddy and saw that his eyes were closed.

'_He won't mind if I go then,' _she thought before walking out of the ship and taking off.

She flew over to where she had sensed her brother and came upon quite a scene. Krillin and Gohan were in fighting stance, facing Vegeta, who was holding a small Namek by his collar. '_Dende,' _Chiara thought.

Krillin and Gohan both turned to look at her when she approached and Vegeta did the same, dropping Dende to the ground.

"So, the last rugrat has decided to join us as well," Vegeta said. "Good, that means I won't have to come find you when I'm done taking care of them."

Chiara blanched as he said that. '_Oh no,' _Chiara thought. '_He's our enemy again.'_

Chiara briefly wondered where the dragonballs were before she saw seven identical stones lying nearby.

"Where are the dragonballs?" Chiara asked.

"They turned to stone," Dende answered, his face sad. "Guru's dead."

Chiara gasped and tears rose in her eyes as she approached Dende, only to be waylaid by Vegeta.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vegeta snarled. "None of you seem to realize that you ruined my only chance of becoming immortal."

"Well, none of us feel very bad about that," Chiara said without thinking, her eyes widening when she realized what she had said.

Vegeta growled as he picked her up by her collar and yanked her off the ground. Krillin and Gohan cried out but before either of them could say or do anything, another voice cut in. A voice that froze them all in their tracks, though only Vegeta really understood the danger they were now all in.

"Well, well, well, three brats and a shrimp," the voice said. "How amusing."

Vegeta dropped Chiara and they all turned towards the speaker. Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan all growled, though there was more fear than anger behind it, and Chiara and Dende gasped in horror, having never seen Frieza before.

"He looks so small, yet he feels so awful," Chiara whispered, loud enough for all but Frieza to hear.

Krillin and Gohan agreed with that, though they didn't say so. They could feel the horrible power of the being standing in front of them and knew they didn't stand a chance.

The fight that followed Frieza's arrival was awful and didn't go well for Chiara, Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta. Vegeta had been the first to fight Frieza but he hadn't done well at all. He had done even worse when Frieza changed into his second form, though why Frieza changed, Chiara couldn't say.

Chiara had bravely kicked Frieza upside the head, stopping him long enough for Gohan to get Vegeta out of there, though Vegeta didn't appreciate the help at all. Chiara and Gohan then worked together to fight Frieza but they, like Vegeta, had been beaten.

Both Chiara and Gohan had begun coughing up blood and Krillin had made them stay back while he fought Frieza himself, ultimately being no more successful than any of the others. He was nearly killed by Frieza until Chiara and Gohan, who had been healed by Dende, had stepped in to distract Frieza.

Frieza had changed into his third form, a form strangely reminiscent of his first form, just much bigger, and he had beaten them again. This time Chiara felt for sure that Frieza would finish them off. This time they were done for. But when Frieza had prepared to finish them off, someone had intervened.

Chiara had been ecstatic when she had seen Piccolo and she had felt for sure that they were going to win but not even Piccolo could withstand Frieza in his fourth and, hopefully, last form. Piccolo had been beaten, as ruthlessly as everyone before him, though he had put on a good fight and had won them a lot of time.

Dende's healing skills had had a hard time keeping up with everybody getting beaten, but he managed until Frieza had caught on and killed the little Namek. Chiara screamed as she saw Dende go down and tears ran down her cheeks as Gohan and Krillin cried out in rage.

After Dende was killed, Gohan once again stepped up to face Frieza. Frieza beat on Gohan and would have killed him if it hadn't been for a well-aimed kick from Chiara. Frieza didn't fly back, but he was slowed down long enough for Krillin to pull Gohan out of there. Chiara hovered in front of Frieza as he too hovered in mid-air.

"Well, well, well," Frieza said mockingly. "Look who decided to re-enter the fray."

"This time will be the last time," Chiara snarled.

Frieza chuckled. "Please tell me you're not planning on fighting me again. You couldn't beat me in my first form, what makes you think you could beat me now?"

Chiara ignored his comment and flew at him. He beat her into the ground much like she had thought he would and she would have been killed if Vegeta hadn't stepped in. He was then inevitably beaten as well. Something needed to happen, something big, or Frieza would kill them all. Already he was losing interest as he boredly beat Vegeta.

And then, something big _did_ happen. Goku came back. Vegeta spoke to Goku as he lay there dying and though Chiara couldn't tell what it was he was saying, she could tell her father was moved. Goku was unable to prevent Frieza from killing Vegeta but he was determined not to let him kill anyone else.

Things didn't work out that way, however, as even a Spirit Bomb couldn't kill Frieza. He came back and killed Krillin, making Goku very upset. Frieza then turned to Gohan, who was supporting Piccolo, and powered up to fire a beam at him.

He fired the beam and Goku yelled for Gohan to get out of the way but the beam never hit Gohan, Chiara jumped in front of Gohan and it hit her instead. Blood gushed out of Chiara's mouth as the beam went straight through her, her body changing the direction of the beam.

"No," Goku screamed.

"Chiara," Gohan screamed, letting Piccolo go and kneeling down next to his twin.

"Oh," Frieza said with a smirk. "I suppose that works too."

Goku ran to where Chiara was lying on the ground and kneeled down next to her. He cradled her in his arms and tried to put pressure on the wound.

"Chi?" Goku cried. "Stay with me, little one. Daddy will make it okay, just stay with me."

But Chiara's eyes were already going blank and there was nothing he could do. Tears streamed down his face as he cried her name again, trying to keep her awake, and alive.

"Daddy," Chiara choked out, blood running down her face, before she gasped and expelled her last breath.

Gohan screamed as he felt her fade from his mind, their link abruptly severed, and sobbed as he threw his arms around his sister. Piccolo bowed his head and Goku clutched both of his children to his chest, his body shaking. Moments passed and Goku didn't bother to wonder why Frieza wasn't attacking. He was probably enjoying the show. Fury coursed through his body at the thought of Frieza's smirking face.

He gently extracted his daughter from his son's arms, carried her over to a rock and laid her down on it as gently as he could. He carefully closed her eyes and kissed her on the side of the head before turning back to Frieza. Goku was beyond angry, his fists were clenched, his eyes were cold and his powerlevel was growing by the second. First his best friend, now his daughter. No more.

Frieza was smirking, but Goku barely saw it. All he saw was that his daughter was dead, and his son was near insane because of it. The emotions became too much and in the following moments Goku turned into a Super Saiyan for the very first time.


	18. Chapter 18: Back on Earth

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Some very minor violence.

_Chapter XVIII: Back on Earth._

_762 A.D. December the 24th._

Gohan sighed as he sat leaned up against a tree, his sister's head in his lap as she slept, softly snoring and mumbling in her sleep. They were back on Earth, they were safe, but their father was still on planet Namek, a planet that was on the verge of exploding.

He sighed again as he thought of what had happened on Namek after Chiara had died. Their father had ordered Gohan to leave immediately and had told him to take Chiara and Piccolo with him. Gohan had left Piccolo and Chiara in Goku's ship and had gone to pick up Bulma to bring her back to the ship as well.

In the mean time, a plan had been devised between King Kai and Goku and with the help of the Earth dragonballs, they had resurrected everyone Frieza had killed on Namek, except Krillin who had already been wished back with the Earth dragonballs before. Dende had then helped them make a wish on the Namek dragonballs and everyone had been taken to Earth.

Gohan had been pleasantly surprised to be back on Earth, and he had been even more pleasantly surprised to see his sister, since he had been away from the ship when she had been resurrected. He winced as he remembered what her death had felt like.

He could still feel the void her death had left, and could still remember the sensation of slowly going crazy. He now knew he could never exist without his twin, and he wondered if it would be the same for her if he were to die. It had been an incredible relief when she had been wished back, along with everyone else.

Once back on Earth, they had had no alternative but to wait for news from Namek and Gohan and Chiara would have been happy doing so if it hadn't been Vegeta taking it upon himself to taunt the twins. He had mocked them for a little too long and Gohan had attacked him, but Vegeta was too strong.

Vegeta beat on Gohan, until Chiara stopped him by punching him in the face and kicking him in the stomach. Chiara landed on her feet as Vegeta sprawled onto the ground. Vegeta got up and clenched his fists. He didn't say a word as he flew at Chiara, who was now rapidly backing off.

"You leave her alone, you pig," Bulma yelled at Vegeta from a distance, scared for Chiara's safety.

Vegeta ignored her and grabbed hold of Chiara before he once again found himself sprawling onto the ground. When he got up, he came face to chest with Piccolo, who had been healed by Dende.

"Back off, Vegeta," Piccolo warned gruffly.

Vegeta glared at Piccolo for a long while and for a moment everyone thought he would attack Piccolo, but in the end he backed off, sneering that none of them were worth his time anyway.

It was some time later that they learned that Frieza had been defeated and planet Namek had been blown up, Goku along with it. Chiara burst into tears and Gohan held her, sobbing himself. Their daddy was gone. Not long after, ChiChi who had been flown to the site by Dr. Briefs, arrived and after much hysterics, took the twins home.

Time passed as it tends to do and the following year, in May, the Z-gang wished Krillin and Yamcha back to Earth with the Namekian dragonballs. The following wish was for Goku to come back and Gohan and Chiara couldn't wait. They were shocked and stunned to hear that their father was still alive, and didn't want to return to Earth.

"Doesn't want?" Chiara said in a small voice. "But... why not?"

Her question was directed at Gohan, but he had no answer. No one did. Son Goku was out there, after surviving a monster battle, and instead of coming home to his family, he chose to stay away. Most of the Z-gang claimed that there was probably a good reason for it, and ChiChi, putting on a brave face, agreed, but on the inside she wondered. Why wasn't her husband coming home?.

Some days later, everything had returned to normal. Goku had won, so they said. But he was nowhere to be found. He wouldn't be coming back just yet, but they knew he was still alive at least. Everyone seemed happy enough with that, except for one person.

Tiny, sweet Son Chiara stood in the frontyard of the Son residence. Her arms crossed, her stance defiant and her face uncharacteristically dark. She was scowling, scowling up at the sky. Somewhere out there her father was hiding, hiding from his own family for Kami only knew what reason.

Chiara's scowl deepened when she heard the soft sounds coming from the kitchen. Her mother was crying ...again. '_This is all because of him,' _Chiara thought darkly, before the dark mood lifted a little and made way for her six year old mind. '_Why?. Why isn't daddy coming home?. Doesn't he like us anymore?'_

She sobbed dryly as she thought of that. Maybe he didn't. Maybe they had done something. Maybe she had done something. What if he was still angry about her coming to Namek without permission, worse, against his orders? What if she was the one who kept him from coming home?

"Chiara?" a soft voice called, before her mother's head appeared around the corner of the door, her eyes still a little red and puffy. "What are you doing out there, sweetheart?. Come in, it's getting cold."

Chiara nodded shakily. "Yes, mommy." But before she could go in, she had to ask. "Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" ChiChi asked kindly.

Chiara took a deep shuddering breath before asking, "Is daddy staying away because of me?"

ChiChi's face was stunned for a moment before she visibly softened and walked to her small daughter. She kneeled down and hugged her to her. Chiara clutched her mother and waited for the answer.

"Don't you ever believe that. I don't know why your daddy is staying away, but I do know that it has nothing to do with you," ChiChi said.

"But I went to Namek, even though he told me not to," Chiara stressed, tears rising in her eyes. "What if he's angry with me?. What if he doesn't want to see me anymore?"

"Oh, sweety, your daddy's not angry," ChiChi soothed. "Yes, he was angry when he heard you had gone, but that was only because he loves you so much. He didn't want you to get hurt. But he would never stay away for that."

Chiara closed her eyes as she absorbed her mother's words, willing them to be true. After hugging for a while, ChiChi held Chiara at arms length and smiled at her, trying to be strong for her sake.

"Now, no tears. None of this is your fault," ChiChi said, before gently kissing her daughter's forehead.

Chiara swallowed her tears and gave her mother a watery smile. They went inside together, both with heavy hearts but feeling closer to eachother than they ever had before.

Note: Skipped a lot, didn't I? Yeah, I tend to do that. So, everybody is on Earth and all is well, except for Goku not wanting to come back. Next up is the Garlic Jr. Saga. I'll be posting the first chapter of that on Thursday.


	19. Chapter 19: Out and About

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Garlic jr Saga :

_Chapter XIX: Out and About._

_763 A.D. June the 9th._

Chiara's face was beaded with sweat as she very carefully crept around on the ground, trying to keep an eye on all directions at once. She couldn't slack off for a moment or it would be over. She had to be watchful, and vigilant, and... She yelped as she was tackled to the ground.

A laughing Gohan jumped up, crying, "I win, I win, I win."

Chiara sat on the ground, a scowl on her face as she dusted off her clothes. She had lost, again. She always lost. Gohan wasn't faster but he was stronger and stealthier and she hated it. Gohan had stopped laughing and when Chiara noticed he was looking at her uncertainly, she wiped the scowl off her face and gave him a smile.

"Next time I'll win," she said confidently.

Gohan laughed again and he nodded with a smile. He was sure she would, she was strong and fast after all. So what if she had never won before, she would some time and he wouldn't mind, as long as she was happy.

Later that day, Gohan and Chiara had gone their separate ways, though they were still in the same area. Gohan was racing a saber-toothed tiger, and winning, and Chiara was watching butterflies near the lake. They met up again when Gohan dove into the lake.

He invited her in and she accepted the invitation. After swimming for a while, Gohan caught some fish for their dinner. Before they could exit the water, however, they were greeted by a familiar figure.

"Hey, you two."

Gohan and Chiara looked up and saw Krillin standing there with a big smile on his face.

"Krillin," Gohan and Chiara cried happily.

"Having fun swimming, huh?" Krillin asked.

The twins nodded before Chiara's smile disappeared. Krillin saw it and frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"What are you wearing?" Chiara asked, getting out of the water.

"Huh?" Krillin said, looking down at himself, before laughing nervously. "Oh, this old thing, it's nothing."

"But what is it?" Chiara asked again. "I've never seen daddy wearing anything like it."

"That's because Goku wasn't one for wearing suits, still isn't, I would say," Krillin said.

"A suit," Chiara repeated, reaching out to touch it.

Krillin gently but firmly seized her hand before she could touch his suit and shook his head. "Uh uh, little one. I don't want to get this wet."

"Hey, Krillin, do you wanna come swimming with us?" Gohan said before Chiara could say anything.

"No, thanks, little man. Like I said, I don't wanna get my suit wet," Krillin said.

"Oh, come on, Krillin, just for a little while. You can take your suit off," Gohan said.

Krillin glanced down at Chiara, who was still staring at his suit. His tie seemed of particular interest to her.

"Well, I don't know," Krillin said, still hesitating.

"What's the harm in going for a swim?" Gohan asked.

Krillin smiled. "You're right. I guess I could swim for a little while."

Krillin took off his suit and went to join Chiara, who had gone back into the water, and Gohan. Before he could jump in, however, a voice stopped him from doing so. A woman's voice. Krillin stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. From out of a flashy looking car on the top of the hill came a woman, who looked an awful lot like Bulma.

"What are you doing?" she whined. "Hurry up, and get back in the car."

The woman disappeared into the car again, and Krillin sighed.

"I guess that's the end of that. I'll see you two later," Krillin said as he got dressed.

"Bye," Gohan and Chiara chorused, both confused as to why he was leaving already.

"Oh, by the way," Krillin said, stopping half way up the hill. "There will be a party at Master Roshi's house later on and you're both invited."

Chiara and Gohan's face lit up simultaneously before they both deflated again.

"I don't know if our mom will let us go, but thanks for the offer," Gohan said.

Krillin nodded and walked to his car. He got in and drove off, leaving Gohan and Chiara behind.

"Uhm," Chiara said. "What was that all about?. Who was the lady?"

"I don't know," Gohan said.

They were both quiet for a long while before a smile appeared on Gohan's face.

"You know," he said. "I think Krillin has a girlfriend."

"What's a girlfriend?" Chiara asked, feeling silly for asking something her brother already knew.

"I'm not sure, I think it's someone you spend alot of time with," Gohan said.

"Like with a friend?" Chiara asked.

"Yeah, only with kissing," Gohan said.

Chiara wrinkled her nose at that. "Well, if that's what girlfriends do, I don't ever want one."

Gohan laughed at that and splashed Chiara before getting out of the water.

"Hey," Chiara spluttered as Gohan ran off laughing, carrying his fish on his back. "Come back here."

He didn't come back though and Chiara sighed, smiling to herself as she got out of the water too. She got dressed and made her way back home, taking her time. She just knew their mother would make them study again, and she hated studying.

Chiara scowled at the paper in front of her, wiping the sweat off her face for the umpteenth time. It was hot outside, hot enough to be stifling, but she couldn't play outside. Neither could her brother. They had to stay inside and study. She sighed as she pulled her sticky hands through her hair. It wasn't fair.

In the city, the children were probably all playing outside. But, as their mother kept saying, they had to study so that they might become scholars or doctors. Chiara frowned at that. She didn't want to be either of those things. It sounded boring. She wanted to be a fighter and save the world.

Her scowl disappeared and was replaced with a sad look at the thought of fighting, as it reminded her of her father. Her mom had explained that he wasn't coming back just yet, but that he would in time. Chiara wondered why her mom cried every night if that was true, but didn't ask.

It was difficult for Chiara and Gohan to be without their daddy. While they loved their mommy with all their hearts, they had always depended on Goku for a lot of things. He had always been the one to get them up in the morning, get them bathed and dressed. He also put them back in bed at night after helping them get into their pj's and helping them brush their teeth. She sighed again and this time there was an answering sigh from the other desk in the room.

"I'm bored," Gohan said softly. "Studying isn't any fun."

"It sure isn't," Chiara agreed. "I wish mom would have let us go to the party at the Kame House. That would have been great."

Gohan nodded slowly. "Yeah, but you know what she said. We have to keep studying."

Chiara started fidgeting with her shirt. "So we're never going to be allowed to go outside again?"

"I don't think so," Gohan said, looking awfully worried himself.

They had of course been outside already. Being only six, however, they conveniently forgot about that, and they thought for sure that they were going to have to study forever.

"Maybe we could sneak out," Chiara whispered to Gohan.

"Do you think we should?" Gohan whispered back.

Chiara thought for a moment before saying, "Probably not. But we could leave for a few hours and come back before mom even notices we're gone."

Gohan considered that for a moment and it made sense to him, so he nodded, happy at the thought of getting out. They both got up quietly and made their way to the window. Gohan opened the hatch and the twins screamed and jumped back when they came face to face with something. Gohan chuckled and Chiara shook her head at herself. It was only Icarus.

"Hey," Gohan said to the small purple dragon. "Did you come to pick me up?"

Icarus nodded his head and cooed as Gohan petted him.

"Well, you take Icarus to Master Roshi's, I'm gonna fly down there," Chiara said, climbing out the window.

"Are you sure?" Gohan asked, climbing after her.

"Sure," Chiara said, hovering into the air. "I'll see you there."

Chiara flew off after waving at Gohan, content to slowly make her way to Master Roshi's island. She preferred to fly anyway, it was the reason she had stopped calling to Nimbus every time she wanted to go somewhere. She liked to fly, it felt liberating, it made her forget all about studying, and her daddy not being there. She hoped that he would come back soon, though, she really did miss him.


	20. Chapter 20: At the Kame House

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Note: There are a couple of things I need to say before you read this chapter.

First, the Garlic Jr. saga is really supposed to be in October, not in June, but I wanted it to be warm and October isn't usually warm, so I decided to go with the more logical month of June.

Second, there are a lot of gaps in my story, gaps between sagas but also gaps within the sagas. I will be trying to fill those up once my main story is finished. For example, in my story I'll be skipping the seven years between the Cell Saga and the Buu Saga, but when the whole thing is finished, I'll be writing a lot of stories about those seven years. The same will hold true for other parts of my story.

Third, I want to send a sincere thank you to the wonderful guys and girls who have reviewed my story. You are very inspiring, and though I'm not the type of writer who stops writing because no one is reviewing, they do make updating easier. Just seeing the amount of hits my story is getting is a big boost, so thank you all.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence.

_Chapter XX: At the Kame House._

_763 A.D. June the 9th._

Chiara arrived at the Kame House a lot later than she had planned. She had been so hot while flying down there that she had decided to take a quick swim. The quick swim had turned into a long swim and she figured she probably missed the party altogether but she had gone on anyway.

Something must have happened while she was swimming, she decided, because one minute the birds were fine and the next they were all attacking her. She shook her head, she would have to ask the others. She walked up to the house and frowned when she heard no sound coming from it.

She knocked on the door and waited. It didn't take long for her to get impatient and she called out, "Hello."

There was no answer and a frown formed on her face. Where was everybody?. Suddenly, there was a noise behind her. She turned around and came face to face with her friends.

"Hey, you guys. Why is everybody outside?" Chiara asked.

There was no answer and that's when she noticed that all of their eyes were glowing red. Not knowing what that meant, she took a small step back and bumped into somebody. She turned around again and looked up to her mother looking down at her, looking quite menacing.

"Mom," Chiara cried. "I can explain. I didn't mean to sneak off. I..."

She was cut off when her mother's fist landed in her face and, because of the unexpected nature of the blow, it sent her flying. She got up in shock. Her mommy had hit her. She had never done that before, not even in the form of spanking.

Chiara went to say something only to be attacked from the side by Yamcha, who was joined by Bulma and Master Roshi. Chiara barely managed to dodge each of them, before knocking Yamcha down and flying away from the other two.

She flew away from the Kame House and into a mountain infested area. What was going on? Why were they attacking her? She didn't have long to ponder the questions as she was attacked by Puar, who along with Yamcha had flown after her.

While Puar couldn't actually hurt her, she was rather persistent in her attacks and Chiara didn't want to hurt the small shapeshifter. She was so focused on Puar, she never saw Yamcha coming and she found herself getting punched in the face, losing consciousness just as she crashed through the rock wall.

On Kami's Look-Out, the battle was over. The evil Garlic Jr. had been defeated and Kami and Mr. Popo had been released. Everyone was still alive, though very bruised, and all was well once again.

When everything had calmed down Piccolo finally got around to asking what he had been worrying about during the entire battle. "Gohan," Piccolo said. "Where's Chiara?"

Gohan's face fell. "I don't know. She was supposed to come to the party at Master Roshi's but she never turned up." Gohan's bottom lip quivered as he though of what might have happened to his twin. "Do you think she's okay?"

Piccolo was already trying to find her powerlevel but came up empty.

"I don't know," he grunted, not wanting to admit how much that bothered him. "But we'll find out."

They took off and flew to the Kame House where they would begin their search. Upon finding everyone there, they briefly explained what had happened before Piccolo once again tried to find Chiara's powerlevel and this time he was joined by Krillin, Gohan and Yamcha. Again, they found nothing.

Piccolo growled in frustration before whirling around to face Yamcha. "What did you do to her?"

"I…I didn't…" Yamcha stammered.

"Don't try to deny it," Piccolo snapped. "You're the only one who comes close to being able to do anything to her."

Yamcha was now backing away from the enraged Namek. "I don't know…I don't remember," he cried.

"None of us do," Bulma added, her voice shaking.

Piccolo had already turned away from them and was now looking around, trying to figure out where Chiara would go.

"What are you talking about?" ChiChi demanded. "Where's my daughter?"

Piccolo ignored her and took to the air, followed by Krillin, Gohan and Yamcha. Gohan thought he heard his mother shout something but he couldn't hear what it was, and truthfully he was too worried about his sister for it to really matter.

The group of four fighters searched the area around the Kame House and finally, Krillin came upon the gaping hole in the rock wall. He gasped as he saw Chiara lying in the hole, blood running from several wounds.

"Piccolo, I found her," Krillin shouted, hoping Piccolo would hear.

As it turned out, he did and he came flying up to them. He leaned into the hole, cursing when he saw the state she was in, and carefully extracted her from the rubble. Krillin marveled at the gentle way Piccolo handled Chiara but said nothing. It wasn't the time for that. Chiara needed help.

Consciousness returned to Chiara about two hours later. She slowly opened her eyes before wincing and shutting them again. The light in the room she was in was too bright. Even with her eyes closed it was too much.

She groaned in annoyance and tried to turn onto her side but found that there was something in her arm that prevented it. In her drowsy state, she irritably pulled at whatever it was and ended up yanking the entire IV pole onto the bed.

The loud clatter attracted the attention of not only the nurse, as she was in fact in hospital, but her mother as well. ChiChi had been sleeping on a bed next to her daughter and had woken up because of the noise.

"Chiara," ChiChi said with a smile, stroking her daughter's hair. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

Chiara, not yet knowing what had happened, was stunned and somewhat fearful as her mother fussed over her. She opened her mouth and tried to speak but only managed to produce a small squeak.

"It's okay, dear, no need to speak," ChiChi cooed. "I know you must be confused. Well, everything will be explained to you in time, but for now, you need your rest."

Chiara wanted to say something, she wanted to ask questions, but found that she was actually a little tired and a nap did sound very nice, so she didn't try to speak again and just closed her eyes. Sleep came only a few minutes later.

Chiara woke up again five hours later. This time she was given the explanation she needed and she was very happy to hear that it hadn't been her mommy who had hit her, but some kind of cloud...or smoke. She didn't really understand, but what mattered was that everything was okay again.


	21. Chapter 21: The Return of Son Goku

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Note: I moved the Trunks saga from 764 A.D. to 765 A.D. The reason for this is that I want Gohan and Chiara to be eleven during the Android and Cell sagas, since the narrator said Gohan was eleven in the series. Since they are born in 757 A.D. the Android and Cell sagas would have to take place in 768 A.D. The Trunks saga is meant to be three years earlier, so…I hope I didn't confuse you all too much, lol, but there you have it.

A really long one this time, because…well, just because. I hope you enjoy it.

Warnings for this chapter: None but the mention of violence (not really worth a warning).

Trunks Saga :

_Chapter XXI: The Return of Son Goku._

_765 A.D. August the 12th._

Two years passed before the peace that had descended on the Son residence was disturbed once again. The two years had gone by without any major events taking place. Gohan and Chiara had continued to study under the watchful eye of their mother, Piccolo had gone back to his training and meditating after saying goodbye to the twins and at the Kame House everyone had gone back to having fun. Everything was normal again.

Things had changed in the two years. For one thing, the twins were both two years older. Gohan had grown a lot, though Chiara hadn't, and they had both gotten a lot stronger. Chiara knew Gohan was still much stronger than her and it did frustrate her, but, as Gohan always gently pointed out, they were on the same side anyway, so what difference did it make? He was right, it didn't make a difference.

The day everything changed again started innocently enough. Gohan and Chiara had been studying like always when they both picked up on an enormous powerlevel heading straight for the Earth. They both gasped and all but fell from their chairs at the feel of it. It felt familiar.

"Gohan," Chiara cried. "Is that…Frieza?"

Gohan growled as he felt the awful powerlevel and nodded his head tersely. "I think so."

Gohan changed into his Saiyan armor while Chiara changed into one of the outfits she had talked Piccolo into making for her. They both rushed out the window, not worried about their mother finding out. There were more important things to take care of at that moment.

When they arrived at the site where the massive power would be landing, they were met by Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chao-Su, Bulma and, surprisingly, Vegeta. Chiara blinked as she saw what Vegeta was wearing but a glance at the Saiyan's face told her that laughing would be followed by death. She didn't think she'd ever forget the sight of the mighty warrior in a pink shirt and yellow pants though.

Tien and Chao-Su made it very known that they didn't trust Vegeta, still remembering the battle on Earth. The arguing continued for some time until Vegeta very calmly pointed out that they were annoying 'the Namek'. Everyone looked around and saw Piccolo standing nearby, looking very annoyed already. Gohan smiled widely and waved at the surly Namek.

"Hi, mr Piccolo," Chiara greeted, waving exuberantly as well.

Piccolo's only response was a curt nod, though the curl of his lips might have been a smile. Meanwhile, the bickering between Tien and Vegeta continued until Yamcha said that he was more worried about the monster that was heading their way.

"Maybe it isn't a monster," Bulma pointed out meekly. "Maybe it's Goku."

But the z-fighters were sure. It was Frieza. Not much later and the bickering had started up again. Piccolo clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, trying to keep from shouting at them. There was no point in joining them in their nicking and nagging but they were grating on his nerves.

He tuned the argument out and took the time to study Gohan and Chiara. He had seen little of them over the past two years and he hadn't realized how much they had grown. '_Well, Gohan has anyway,' _Piccolo mused as he looked at the tiny Saiyan girl sitting on the ground next to her brother, asking him about something or other. '_Why did she stay so small?'_

He could tell, however, that no matter how small the girl had stayed in stature, she had grown immensely in her powerlevel as well as in maturity. She wasn't the same weak little girl she had been and he was pleased to see it. They needed all the help they could get.

Upon realizing that the argument was still going on, Piccolo finally lost his temper and yelled at them to shut up. "You're acting like ignorant little children," he sneered.

Silence descended on the clearing until Bulma broke it hesitantly.

"Has Goku arrived yet?" she asked hopefully.

Everyone hung their head down and that was all the answer Bulma needed. Suddenly, a huge circular spacecraft passed over their heads and they all gasped.

"He's here," Tien ground out.

The ship landed nearby and everyone got ready to go over to it. Yamcha had to be persuaded but in the end they all went, climbing steep cliffs and jumping over narrow bridges, being careful not to expose their power levels to the scouters of Frieza and his men. As they neared Frieza, the ship opened and out stepped what appeared to be a robot, accompanied by a very large version of Frieza himself.

"Either Frieza has grown or he's turned into a robot," Chiara whispered to Gohan. "I don't think I like either possibility."

Gohan nodded tensely, not taking his eyes off the two figures standing outside the ship. As it turned out, the robot was Frieza, though who the large alien was only Vegeta knew.

"King Kold," Vegeta grunted softly. "Frieza's father."

They looked on as Frieza and his father talked and Frieza sent out his men. The fighters tensed and got ready to do battle but the henchmen never reached them. A sword stopped them in their tracks and out of nowhere a young teenager appeared.

The boy could have been no older than eighteen, and his powerlevel didn't appear to be very high, but they all knew that didn't mean anything. They all looked on as the teen faced Frieza and finished off yet another wave of fighters.

Apparently Frieza then decided to take care of things himself and he stepped forward until the teen started to transform. His hair turned blond, they could see that even from a distance, and his powerlevel went through the roof.

"What is that?" Chiara asked. "What did he do?"

Nobody answered. Everybody was looking at the boy in disbelief. He was a Super Saiyan.

"Is that what daddy did on Namek?" Chiara asked Gohan.

Vegeta turned and threw a furious scowl at Chiara that made her back away quickly. They watched the battle that followed with interest, they had never seen anything like it. Just when they thought for sure the boy had been killed, he turned up again and killed the robotic tyrant, followed by his father.

The boy sheathed his sword again and powered down. The fighters of Earth were shocked when he then turned to them. They all got into fighting positions, except for Chiara and Gohan who were still gawking at the lavender haired teen, who was now looking at them, his expression very amiable.

"Hey," the teen called. "I'm going to go meet Goku, do you want to come along?"

They all started in surprise, again except Chiara and Gohan.

"Daddy? We're gonna meet daddy?" Chiara cried with a smile.

Chiara flew up and down to where the boy was standing before anyone could stop her.

"Chiara, come back here," she heard Piccolo call from behind her but she didn't turn back.

She landed in front of the mysterious fighter and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Son Chiara," Chiara said happily.

"Hello, Chiara," the boy said with a smile.

If she had been paying attention she would have noticed that the teen offered no name himself, and that his smile was strangely affectionate, as if he knew her already, but she was too excited about the prospect of seeing her father again.

"Do you know my daddy? Are you really going to go and meet him?" Chiara asked.

"Yes, I am," he said. "You can come along if you want."

Chiara was about to say something when she felt herself getting pulled away from the boy and shoved behind someone. Piccolo was now standing in front of her with Krillin and Tien closeby. The teen seemed to understand their behaviour though as he merely smiled and took off.

Chiara immediately followed, again before anyone could stop her, and Gohan was close behind her. Vegeta also followed fairly quickly. The rest of them followed slowly, one-by-one, until they were all flying in a straight line behind the young Super Saiyan.

After a short while, the boy landed and after checking his watch told them that they had about two hours before Goku arrived. Chiara had a big grin on her face as she turned to her twin brother.

"Daddy's coming back," she enthused. "Can you believe it, Gohan? We're gonna see daddy again."

Gohan nodded, the same big smile on his face. Finally, after over two and a half years, their daddy was coming home.

------------------

Krillin yawned as he sat on the boulder next to Gohan and Bulma. Chiara was sitting next to the mysterious teen, happily chattering away about everything and nothing. She seemed to have really taken a liking to the boy and the feeling appeared to be mutual, as the boy had a soft look on his face as he very patiently listened to whatever Chiara was saying.

Piccolo was keeping a very close eye on Chiara as he didn't seem to trust the boy at all. Krillin had to admit he had felt the same initially, though now the kid seemed okay. He had even given them soda. Chiara had managed to wheedle two cans of soda out of the boy, who had indulgently given them to her.

Vegeta, like Piccolo, didn't trust the boy either, though it had nothing to do with Chiara. It had to do with the whole Super Saiyan thing. Vegeta insisted that he and Goku were the only two Saiyans left, counting Gohan and Chiara there would be four. The boy had said nothing in response but _had_ explained about how he knew Goku. Apparently he didn't know him personally, he only knew what other people had told him.

Krillin smiled softly as he heard Chiara giggle about something. The teen laughed and ruffled Chiara's hair. The girl really had changed an awful lot, though she was still as small as she ever was. '_She doesn't look eight at all,' _Krillin thought.

The size difference between the twins had always been there, but now it was huge. '_I wonder why that is.' _He shrugged the thought off when he heard Bulma asking if the two hours had passed yet. They hadn't. They had at least a half hour to go and Krillin sighed at the thought. Waiting really was very dull, especially when you were waiting for your best friend.

------------------

Loneliness had been a fact of life for Trunks Briefs for as long as he could remember. His mother had been all the family he had his entire life, she was all he had left when he had entered the time machine to go back. Everyone had been killed by the Androids, every last one of them.

He had never felt the loneliness more keenly, however, than when he had come face to face with the group of people who should have been his family and friends. They had all been ripped away from him and his mother in his timeline, but if he had anything to say about it, they wouldn't be in this timeline.

He smiled softly as he looked at the small version of one of the best friends he had ever had sitting next to him, telling him all about what she had had for breakfast that day, the scrape on her knee and pretty much anything she could think of.

The Son Chiara that Trunks was familiar with wasn't quite as carefree as that. The death of her father and the subsequent anguish her mother had gone through had changed her from a bubbly young girl into a quiet and brooding young woman.

She and Gohan had been the best friends he could have wished for. They had practically raised him and they had taught him everything they knew.

He swallowed as he remembered the day he had lost both of them. Chiara and Gohan had been visiting the Capsule Corporation when Chiara had called their home to check on ChiChi. When ChiChi hadn't answered the phone, Chiara had made the fateful decision to go and make sure she was okay.

Gohan had been against her going on her own but had conceeded when she had told him she would use her teleportation to get there. Trunks didn't know and had never found out when or how Chiara had run into the Androids but it had been no more than a half hour later when Gohan had screamed and fallen to the ground, desperately clutching his head with his remaining hand. Chiara had died.

Both Trunks and Bulma had been distraught but their grief didn't compare to Gohan's. He had completely lost it. He had rushed out, Trunks close behind him despite Bulma's protests. It took Gohan a few moments to realize that Trunks was with him, and when he did he knocked him out to keep him safe. Trunks had found Gohan's body a while later.

His distress over the loss of both of his friends drove him into becoming a Super Saiyan for the very first time. He had buried Chiara, whose body he had found not far from the Son house, and Gohan side by side.

Their deaths had left a void, a void he felt would be there forever. But now, listening to tiny Son Chiara telling him about the elephants on her bedspread and asking him what animals his bedspread had on it, he felt that maybe there was hope.

------------------

The two hours passed and Trunks smiled as he realized it.

"Goku will be here any minute now," he announced to the earth's fighters surrounding him.

Chiara's face shone as she thought about seeing her daddy again. She got up and ran to Gohan, who opened his arms and hugged her as she ran into his embrace. They hugged, laughing happily. Everyone looked on with a smile, except Vegeta, who was scowling and Piccolo, who looked only slightly less annoyed than usual.

Not much later, a ship crashed down to Earth. Everyone gathered around the gaping hole and waited for whomever was in the ship to exit. The ship opened and Son Goku stepped out. The hero of Earth was finally back home. Everyone cheered at the sight of him, taking him by surprise.

"Goku," Bulma cried happily.

"Father," Gohan enthused.

"He's really still alive," Vegeta muttered in disbelief.

"Goku," Krillin and Tien cried simultaneously.

Goku climbed out of the hole and joined them at the top, smiling as they all welcomed him back.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Goku asked, scratching the side of his head.

"Because of him," Bulma said, pointing at Trunks. "He told us you'd be here."

"Dad, do you know him?" Gohan asked.

"No, who is he?" Goku asked.

"You have no idea who he is?" Bulma asked, confusedly.

"No, not at all," Goku said. "Frieza found my spaceship, so he knew when I'd arrive on Earth. But who defeated him? Whoever it was had a tremendous powerlevel. Was it Piccolo? Or Vegeta?"

As Piccolo explained what had happened and that the boy was a Super Saiyan, Chiara hung back. She had yet to say a word. Seeing him had reminded her of how disobedient she had been and her fear of her daddy being angry with her overcame her joy at seeing him again. She knew that he wouldn't want her to leave or anything, but what if he was still mad?

While Chiara stayed back, the boy asked Goku if he could talk to him for a few moments and Goku agreed. The others were indignant that they couldn't be there for the conversation but Goku insisted they wait where they were.

It was a long while before Goku returned to the group. Trunks left in his strange looking spaceship and they all waved. Trunks' gaze lingered on Bulma, then on Gohan, and finally on Chiara. When asked what his talk with the mysterious youth had been about, Goku merely shrugged and smiled innocently.

"It's no big deal," he said.

Everyone was sceptical about that answer but prepared to accept it, but Piccolo seemed very angry.

"It is a big deal, Goku, and you know it," Piccolo said. "You can't keep this from them."

Goku blanched as he realized Piccolo had heard. "How did you hear all that?"

"My ears aren't there just to frame my face," Piccolo snarled. "They need to know."

Goku panicked, "But you can't tell them about..."

"I won't, but they need to hear about the rest of it," Piccolo said. He then proceeded to tell them about the future and how, if they didn't train hard and become stronger, they would be killed.

They all agreed that they needed to train and train hard and before long everyone went their separate ways. Piccolo went one way, Tien and Chao-Su another, Krillin went back to the Kame House and Bulma and Yamcha, and eventually Vegeta, went back to the Capsule Corporation. Goku, Gohan and Chiara were left by themselves on the plain.

"We're going to get killed by androids?" Chiara asked aloud, her face pale and scared.

Goku turned towards his daughter and a smile appeared on his face.

"It's okay, sweetheart, we'll all train and become stronger," Goku said. "We'll be okay."

Chiara looked up at her father and suddenly realized that he didn't look angry, she smiled shyly as she nodded. He kneeled down and opened his arms.

"Can I have a hug?" he asked softly.

Chiara all but flew into her father's arms and relieved tears fell from her eyes as he held her close, Gohan joining the embrace. Sitting there in her father's arms, her brother right beside her, she felt safe, safer than she had ever felt.

Not long after, the Sons went home. While they flew home, Goku took the time to study his twin children. Gohan had become a big boy and was obviously exceedingly powerful. Goku felt his heart swell with pride at the thought of his son becoming a Super Saiyan as well.

He then looked at Chiara, who was significantly smaller, and not quite as powerful. Goku wondered if he should be worried about her lack of size. '_I'm sure she's eating properly, ChiChi would make sure of that, and she is a Saiyan after all.'_ He knew she was strong, though, very strong and he once again felt proud.

His heart did more than swell in pride, it swelled with love. Love for his children, and love for his wife, who even now was waiting for him to come home. '_I'm coming home, ChiChi, I'm coming home.'_

Note: Aww, so sweet. I'm actually rather proud of this chapter, and that doesn't happen a lot. Personally, I especially like the bits between Trunks and Chiara. Let me know what _you_ think. Subtle attempt at getting reviews, isn't it?


	22. Chapter 22: A Day to Relax

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: My apologies for this chapter being one day late. My excuse is that refused to let me upload it yesterday, so...here it is now.

Android and Cell Saga :

_Chapter XXII: A Day to Relax._

_766 A.D. June the 11th._

Almost a year had passed since the mysterious youth, that only Goku seemed to know anything about, had appeared and defeated Frieza and his monstrous father. All of the z-fighters had been training diligently but none more than the Sons. They trained with Piccolo, and they did so practically non-stop.

One afternoon, after a particularly rough training, Goku decided that they would take the rest of the day off. He had seen his children struggling under the weight of the rigorous schedule, Chiara in particular, and he knew he needed to go easier or they would buckle under the strain.

Piccolo left, saying he would be back the next day when they started training again, and the Sons convalesced at the side of the lake near their home. Gohan was taking a swim while Goku and Chiara were on the shore, just relaxing. After a while Chiara got bored of just laying there and she sat up.

Son Chiara had always been small and the year that had passed since the whole Frieza and King Kold thing had done nothing to change that, she was still tiny. Much smaller than her twin brother for sure. It didn't really bother Chiara, it never had. She knew there were advantages to being taller, but her father had assured her that it would make no difference in her training and she believed him.

She now sat on the ground, looking first at her brother, who was still swimming, and second at her father, who looked to be sleeping. She picked up a small pebble and threw it at her father, hitting him on the arm. His eyelids moved slightly but he didn't open them.

Chiara giggled softly and she grabbed another pebble. She threw it and hit him on the arm again, this time a little closer to his hand. His eyelids move again and this time Chiara knew for sure that he was awake. She suppressed another giggle and grabbed another pebble, she threw it at his head and as she had expected, he caught it.

Goku opened his eyes and sat up. He looked at his small daughter sitting there, with a mischievous look on her face, and a sparkle in her eyes. He chuckled and flicked the pebble away before grabbing a hold of his daughter. They wrestled and fought playfully while they laughed.

"Come here," Goku said laughing.

He gently grabbed her head and gently rubbed his knuckles on the top of her head.

"Stop," Chiara said, laughing wildly.

Goku laughed as he let go of her only to be jumped by her. He let himself fall back, marveling at the power of the small girl who was now sitting on his chest, loudly declaring herself the victor of their struggle. At the Son residence, ChiChi heard the distant sounds of fun being had and smiled.

A few minutes later Goku was on his stomach and Chiara was lying on his back with her head next to his. Her spiky black hair, so much like his, fell over Goku's head and she giggled.

"Now you have long hair," Chiara said.

Goku chuckled and Chiara giggled. She closed her eyes and laid herself down again.

"Dad?" Chiara said after a while.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Goku asked gently.

"Have... have I been doing well in training?" she asked, sounding nervous.

"You've been doing very well," Goku assured. "Why?"

"Well, I know Gohan's stronger than I am, and so are you and mr. Piccolo," Chiara said, fiddling with her father's shirt. "I just thought maybe you were…I don't know, disappointed."

Goku didn't say anything as he gently nudged her off his back and turned around. He wrapped his massive arms around her, making her feel safe as he always did, and looked down at her, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face.

"There is nothing in this world that makes me more proud than knowing that I'm the father of two very strong and very smart children. You and Gohan are my pride and my joy, and I love you both more than life itself. I know that I said I was disappointed in you when you went to Namek, but that was only because you might have gotten hurt and I was very afraid of that," Goku said. "I could never be disappointed in you, not in your fighting, not in anything you do. Don't ever think that," Goku said. "Okay?"

Chiara nodded slowly, a smile appearing on her face as she realized that she had been worrying over nothing. Goku smiled as well, and all seriousness left his face. He held her close as they fell silent and once again relaxed. After a few minutes, Goku glanced down and saw that Chiara's eyes were closed.

"Chi?" Goku whispered.

No answer. Goku stroked Chiara's cheek with his forefinger.

"Chi?" Goku whispered again.

Still no answer.

"She's asleep."

Goku looked up and saw Gohan standing there with a smile on his face.

"I felt her fall asleep while I was swimming. I wish she wouldn't do that," Gohan said, rubbing his eyes, which were falling shut. "It makes me drowsy."

Goku chuckled as he got up, cradling his daughter in one arm, once again marveling that at nine years old she was still small enough for him to do that, and put his other arm around his son.

"Let's go home, son," Goku said quietly. "Your mom's probably worried."

When they got home, ChiChi told Goku to put Chiara to bed.

"I'll wake her up when it's dinner time," ChiChi said, giving her daughter a fond look.

Goku nodded and walked up the stairs and ChiChi turned to give her son the same fond look.

"Did you have fun, dear?" ChiChi asked.

Gohan nodded and began his tale of how they had spent their time. Chiara was awakened for dinner but she barely managed to stay awake during it. After dinner, Goku took her back upstairs, helped her brush her teeth and dressed, a by then once again sleeping, Chiara in a pair of pj's.

They were pink and frilly and they hurt Goku's eyes, but he supposed they were what girls of Chiara's age should wear. He was moving her arms and legs, getting her into her pyjama's, but she didn't wake up.

"You sleep like the dead, kid," Goku said softly with a smile.

After he put her in bed, he looked at her sleeping so soundly for a while.

"My babygirl," Goku whispered. "No matter what happens in the future, I will always love you."

He gently kissed her on the forehead and left the room while Chiara slept on, content with her life.

Note: A little bit of fluff never hurt anybody, lol. I hope you've all enjoyed.


	23. Chapter 23: Prelude to a Fight

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: It's a short one this time, I hope you enjoy.

_Chapter XXIII: Prelude to a Fight._

_768 A.D. May the 1st._

Chiara snorted in disgust as she threw the newspaper down. She had just finished reading an article about the 'World Champion' Hercule, who would be participating in the 24th World Tournament set for May the 7th. She had seen him on television several times and she knew the man was a joke. Her father was a million times stronger. _She_ was a million times stronger, for that matter.

She sighed as she got up from the table and walked to the window. Her father and brother were training outside, and she would normally be right there with them but after the previous day her father had decided she needed to take this day to rest.

(_Flashback_)

Sweat poured down Chiara's face as she squared off against her father. She was focusing hard on him, trying to get a punch or a kick in. She attacked him and very nearly managed to get a hit in before she was knocked away.

"That was good, Chi, try it again," Goku encouraged.

Chiara wasn't at all sure if it was good or not, but she _would_ try again. She attacked him again, intending on feigning an attack from one direction and then actually attacking from another. Her strategy worked to a degree, she did take Goku off guard, but the effect was not what she had hoped for.

The punch that Goku had intended for the side of her face, hitting her just hard enough to knock her down, now landed on the back of her head, knocking her out and to the ground.

When she woke up, she was in her bed. Her brother was sitting beside her bed and the sound of her mother yelling at her father was in the background. Her brother was asleep, his head and arms on her bed, and Chiara smiled at that.

He had been waiting for her to wake up, but she would let him sleep for a while longer. He was probably exhausted himself after training. She sighed as she put her head down, his sleeping was making her tired but she didn't want to close the link, she felt uncomfortable when it was closed.

She resigned herself to sleeping some more, at least until Gohan woke up, and before she even finished that thought, she had fallen asleep again.

(_Flashback ends_)

So now here she was, waiting for the next day. She wanted to get back to training but her father insisted she would only injure herself further if she fought that day. Personally she thought he was being overprotective but she knew arguing would serve no purpose.

The real trouble with not training was that her mother insisted she use the time to study, something she was trying to get away from. It wasn't that she didn't want to be smart and become somebody, it was just that studying was boring.

She sighed again and walked back to her desk, sitting down on the chair. She had a geography assignment to take care of.

_768 A.D. May the 2nd._

Silence. Silence reigned for a long moment. Two arms reached into the deep hole and gently extracted the small body from it. Awareness returned and with it came pain. A lot of it. She gasped only to be soothed by a very familiar voice, telling her to chew on something that had been popped into her mouth.

She complied, her foggy mind not registering what was happening, and before any real thought could enter her mind, she felt the pain disappear and her strength return. She blinked as she opened her eyes and found herself staring up at two faces. Her father's face and her brother's face. They both looked relieved.

"What happened?" she asked as she let her father help her up.

At that question, Gohan's face fell and he looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Chi, I was aiming for dad, but he dodged," Gohan said softly.

Chiara smiled softly at her brother as she realized he felt guilty. He didn't have to. She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"It's okay, Gohan, we were training," she said reassuringly. "It can only make me stronger. Besides, I'm fine now."

Gohan's features lightened considerably at that. They continued their training after that, and although Gohan still felt bad for hitting his sister the way he did, at least he knew she didn't blame him.

Goku watched as his children trained with Piccolo. He was in awe at how good they were. Gohan was stronger than his smaller sister, and Chiara, in turn, was faster than he was. They were fascinating to watch as they tried to outdo eachother.

Gohan was getting over the need to hold back while facing his sister and was doing better than he had been because of it. He won every time but Goku could see both of them improving as time passed.

So much power, so much speed. His heart swelled with pride as he realized that he was half responsible for creating two of the best fighters on Earth. Now he could only hope it would be enough against the Androids.


	24. Chapter 24: Arrival of the Androids

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence.

_Chapter XXIV: Arrival of the Androids._

_768 A.D. May the 12th._

It was a beautiful bright day on May the 12th. So bright a day that no one would have believed that this was the day that two killer androids were set to arrive. And arrive they did, in a truly impressive and horrible way. They landed in the Northern City and immediately started their destruction.

Chiara had been heading for the Northern City on her own after she had flown away from the others. They seemed to think that she should stay at home, but there was no way she would. She had been training too and she hadn't been training just so she could be left at home at the last minute.

As she flew she became aware that just ahead of her, a familiar powerlevel was also heading for the city. She sped up and soon found herself flying just behind Yamcha. Yamcha, having sensed her, turned and smiled when he saw her.

"Hey," he said, before frowning. "Where's your father?"

Chiara frowned at that. Why did he ask that? Couldn't she just be there by herself?

"I don't know," Chiara said, shrugging her tiny shoulders. "Now, we better hurry up and get to the city."

Yamcha nodded, and sped up, no longer worried that she was on her own. He had other things to worry about anyway. The two of them swiftly made their way to the city and when they landed, they saw that a great deal of it was already destroyed.

"Alright," Yamcha said, scowling as he looked around. "Let's find them quick, before they do even more damage."

Chiara nodded and they split up to find the murdering robots.

Elsewhere, Goku and Gohan had joined up with most of the z-team members, and they were now talking about where the androids would be.

"We can't sense them, so finding them will be difficult," Piccolo said. "I say we split up."

"I'm heading for the city," Goku suddenly spoke up. He had been quiet and scowling the whole time he and Gohan had been flying over there.

"You know where the androids are, Goku?" Krillin asked.

"No, but I know where my daughter is," Goku said, his face still dark. "And that's where I need to be."

It didn't take long for Yamcha to find androids, or rather, it didn't take long for them to find him. He fought a tall and old looking android and he fought fiercely but he was beaten. Yamcha went down hard. He got up as quickly as he could only to be grabbed from behind by the android.

He was startled when he suddenly felt his energy fading, as if it was being sucked out of him. When he realized that this was in fact what was happening, he started struggling as much as he could, but it was no use. The android was too strong.

Slowly Yamcha felt himself blacking out when suddenly the android let go of him. Or, more accurately, the android was torn away from him. Yamcha blearily looked up to see what had happened and was shocked to find a very small girl standing over him, protecting him with herself. The android seemed equally shocked, but attacked almost immediately anyway.

Chiara put up a tremendous fight and had her father been there to see, he would have been extremely proud. But he wasn't there to see it, and it was all for nothing anyway, as she too was no match for the android. She was viciously beaten, and the better part of her energy was sucked out of her before rescue finally came.

When consciousness returned to Chiara, much later, she found herself lying in a bed, and somebody was shaking her. She groggily opened her eyes and tried to lift her head but that was a lost cause before she even began. Her head felt like a truck had run over it. She blinked and stared up into an anxious face and it took her a few moments to identify the face as being Krillin's.

"Hey, little one," Krillin said when she looked at him. "We need to go."

"Go?" Chiara asked softly. "Go where? What happened?"

"I can explain all that later, right now, we need to move," Krillin said as he pulled her blankets down.

It registered in Chiara's mind that she was still wearing her battle gear as Krillin gently lifted her into his arms, but why? Why hadn't her mother changed her clothes? He carried her out of the house and Chiara was startled to see Tien and Yamcha carrying her father into Bulma's airship.

"What happened to dad?" Chiara cried, trying to get down.

"Calm down, Chi," Krillin said, trying to hold onto her. "You're in no condition to walk right now. All will be explained later."

Chiara forced herself to calm down but she couldn't stop looking at her father. Was he sleeping? Unconscious? Or worse? She swallowed hard at the thought and tears rose in her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry, little one," Krillin soothed. "Your dad will be fine."

Chiara nodded slowly as her mother and brother came walking out of the airship.

"Gohan, mom," Chiara cried happily.

"Chi," Gohan enthused.

ChiChi walked up, a relieved smile on her face. Krillin carefully handed Chiara over to her mother, who hugged her tightly.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" ChiChi asked, and when Chiara nodded, she went on. "I'm sorry mommy didn't change you out of those horrible clothes, but they kept telling me we had to be ready to leave at all times. As if it would have taken me more than a few minutes to put you in some decent clothes. The nerve of that Yamcha, telling me what to do in my own house."

"It's okay, mom," Chiara said. "I'll change later." She didn't add that she didn't think the clothes she was wearing were horrible at all. That would only fuel her mother's anger.

Chiara was taken into the airship by ChiChi and it quickly took off. While flying, Krillin gave Chiara the promised explanation and Chiara was stunned by everything that had happened while she was out. Trunks was back, which was a good thing but that was just about the only good thing.

As it turned out, they were now fleeing from different androids, the original two that Trunks had referred to, and another one that the androids had recruited, who were trying to find Goku so they could kill him.

Then there was the fact that Bulma had discovered yet another time capsule, the same kind Trunks had used to get to their timeline, only this one hadn't held a boy from the future, it had held something far more sinister. The present timeline version of that 'something' had been destroyed, but the future version was now out and about.

All the information made Chiara's head buzz, but what made her heart hurt was the fact that her daddy was sick, he had a virus, and they didn't know if the medicine would heal him in time. Chiara prayed that it would, she didn't know what she and Gohan would do without their father.

Note: Yes, this chapter has a lot of information crammed into it, and I do feel less than good about that, but be assured of this, there is a very good reason Chiara wasn't in the stuff I skipped. It has to do with her not being seen as a child by a certain someone who will feature heavily in my story later on. There, my first hint as to what will happen in future chapters. I hope that's a good enough excuse, lol. Next up is the Cell saga, which will be three chapters long. First update will be on Thursday, March the 8th.


	25. Chapter 25: Very Small Saiyans

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: A big thank you to all my reviewers so far, you guys do keep me going with your enthusiasm.

Cell Saga :

_Chapter XXV: Very Small Saiyans and Very Big Bugs._

_768 A.D. May the 12th._

Chiara watched as Trunks and Gohan took off to meet Bulma in the mountains. Apparently a man had found some sort of ship with the Capsule Corporation logo on it. He had called Bulma to ask if he could keep it and Bulma wanted to see if Trunks could identify it.

When Trunks confirmed that it was in fact his time machine, he and Gohan set out to check the machine out. ChiChi had been adamant that Chiara stay behind, and for once Chiara didn't argue. She had seen more than enough action for a while and besides, she wanted to stay with her dad.

She turned away from the window to look at her father, who was sprawled out on the cabin floor, clutching his chest while groaning in pain. Tears filled her eyes as she watched him. He was dying, her dad was dying and nobody could stop it from happening.

She tried to force the tears away but they wouldn't go and after a while, she gave up and just let them run freely. She started when an arm wrapped around her shoulders. She hadn't even heard or sensed Krillin coming her way.

She winced, thinking about what Piccolo would have to say about that. He would be so disappointed. And so would her dad be, if he even lived. Sobs rose in her throat and she let them go. Krillin pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried.

"Hey, little one," Krillin whispered. "It's okay, your father will be fine."

"He…doesn't…look…" Chiara hiccuped, but didn't manage to say more.

"I know, but he'll be fine," Krillin said decisively. "The medicine is already doing it's job."

"It is?" Chiara whispered, her voice uncertain and scared.

"Sure it is," Krillin said, praying it was true.

Chiara looked at her dad again and found that if she looked close enough, she could see that his features were relaxing from time to time, something they had been unable to do before. Maybe Krillin was right, maybe he would be okay. A small, hesitant smile appeared on her face. Yeah, maybe.

Chiara listened in bewildered awe as Trunks and Gohan, having just returned from their 'trip', explained how some kind of creature had come out of an egg they had found inside the time machine. They didn't know what it was but they thought it had to be some kind of bug, a very big bug.

The small Saiyan girl swallowed hard. A 'very big' bug?. Chiara didn't like bugs, and she was positive she liked 'very big' bugs even less. She remembered seeing a spider crawling up her leg once when she was about three, and she had screamed and screamed and screamed until her father had removed it.

Maybe it was childish to be afraid of bugs, Gohan didn't seem to be, but she just was and if a giant bug was around, she wanted to go home.

'_But how? If the Androids get their way, I may not have a home anymore,' _Chiara thought. '_And what about the bug? Maybe he could find our home, and then what?'_

Chiara shook her head, all these depressing thoughts were making her head hurt. She would just have to hope that by the time the bug came along, her dad was better and then he would beat the bug. After all, there wasn't anybody or anything Son Goku couldn't beat.

They were at Master Roshi's house, having fled there to avoid the Androids. Goku was still in a lot of pain and Chiara could barely stand it. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if he didn't get better. Her mother was at his side constantly, administering the medicine when needed.

Chiara too had been given some of the medicine, just in case the heart virus was contagious.

(_Flashback_)

Chiara blinked in confusion after her mom told her she had to take some of the medicine.

"But…why? I'm not sick," Chiara said.

"I know, sweetie, and I want to keep it that way," ChiChi said, holding up the spoon full of medicine.

"But doesn't dad need all of it?" Chiara asked.

"He needs most of it, but there's some left for us," ChiChi said, holding up the spoon again, the look on her face clearly saying to open her mouth.

(_Flashback ends_)

So she had taken the medicine. Her mom probably knew better than she did, but she still thought they should have saved it all for her father. He was the sick one. Her thoughts were interrupted when Trunks, who along with some of the others was watching the tv, cried out.

Chiara hurried over just in time to see the screen go black.

"What happened?" she asked Trunks.

"The people in Ginger Town were attacked," Trunks ground out.

Chiara swallowed hard. "By the bug?" she asked hesitantly, not really wanting to know.

Trunks nodded, his face like stone. "I think so, what else could it be?"

Chiara didn't know. She didn't think she could stand it if there was something else besides the bug running around. The bug was bad enough.

"Are we going down there to check it out?" Chiara asked.

Before Trunks could answer, ChiChi cried out, "You are not going anywhere, young lady. And neither is Gohan."

"But mom…" Gohan began.

"No buts. It's bad enough you two are always at the center of everything as it is. I won't have you going out looking for trouble," ChiChi said, her fists planted firmly on her hips. "It has enough success finding you."

Both Chiara and Gohan gave in, but they both knew that if something else happened, they would go to see.

_768 A.D. May the 17th._

A tournament. A tournament was set to determine the fate of the planet. In just five days everything had changed for the z-team and things had definitely gone from bad to worse. After the gang regrouped at the Kame House, they saw on tv that people were disappearing in Ginger Town.

Piccolo had gone to Ginger Town and had come across an obviously weak Cell, who at the arrival of Krillin and Trunks used a Solar Flare to escape. It was then known that Cell needed to absorb Androids 17 and 18 to become Perfect Cell and the z-team had to do whatever it took to stop this from happening.

That very same day Trunks and Vegeta entered the Room of Spirit and Time, where a year passed on the inside for every day that passed on the outside. While Vegeta and Trunks trained in the Room, and Gohan and Goku waited for their turn, Piccolo, Krillin, Chiara and the others went to stop the Androids, and, more importantly, Cell.

Goku was against Chiara going anywhere but she had already left by the time he realized she was going. Goku wanted to go after her but Piccolo swore that he would keep an eye on her while they were gone, so he reluctantly stayed where he was.

Krillin and the others split up while Piccolo and Chiara searched together. It took a long while for the z-team to find anyone but in the end, Piccolo found Android 17. He made Chiara hide before she was seen and fought 17 by himself. Chiara wasn't happy that she had to hide but did as she was told, the last thing she needed was to be sent back to her father.

She watched as Piccolo and 17 fought a pretty much even battle until Cell showed up. Android 17 was cocky and arrogant and believed no one could beat him, but Cell proved him wrong by not only beating him but absorbing him as well.

Android 16 was next to fight Cell, to protect 18, but although he was stronger than 17, he too was beaten. In the mean time, Vegeta and Trunks exited the Room of Spirit and Time and Goku and Gohan entered. Back on the battle field, Chiara fought Cell after Piccolo was beaten, but she was no match for him.

In the Room of Spirit and Time, Gohan felt his sister being beaten and he tried to exit the room to go and help her. Goku wanted out just as badly, but they couldn't leave. The door wouldn't open again until a year later. Gohan swore that he would train hard and become strong enough to beat Cell once and for all.

Chiara was saved when Vegeta and Trunks showed up. Vegeta was so confident that he would be able to beat Cell that he allowed Cell to absorb 18, even going so far as stopping Trunks from interfering. Krillin, who had been trying to protect 18, was upset when Cell absorbed her and flew at him, but was beaten very easily. Chiara once again tried to fight Cell but she was already hurt and no match for him.

Vegeta stepped in and fought Cell but could no longer hurt him. He realized he had made a mistake but was too proud to admit it. He was severely beaten by Cell and eventually knocked unconscious. Trunks fought Cell once Vegeta was out but not even he could harm Cell.

Chiara tried to fight Cell one last time but it was no use. Cell picked a now unconscious Chiara up by her shirt and threw her to Trunks, who caught her and gently cradled her in his arms. Cell then told Trunks that he was organising a tournament and that it would be held in 10 days.

Trunks, who was carrying Chiara, Krillin and a revived Vegeta went home and told everyone what had happened. Everyone resolved to get ready for the tournament to come.

The next day, Cell announced his tournament on tv. Goku and Gohan exited the Room of Spirit and Time and Piccolo entered it. What he didn't know, was that he wasn't alone when he entered.

Note: More cramming, won't it ever end? Good news, the next chapter won't be filled with undetailed events. That is good news, right? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed.


	26. Chapter 26: The Room of Spirit and Time

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XXVI: The Room of Spirit and Time._

_768 A.D. May the 17th._

Piccolo grimly stared ahead into the space of the Room of Spirit and Time. He was facing a long year of harsh training but he knew he was ready. He would train until he couldn't train anymore and then maybe, he would be able to make a difference in the battle against Cell.

He froze when he heard a gasp from behind him and closed his eyes, praying that he had imagined it.

"This place is huge," a small voice said.

He all but sprained his neck whirling around and when he came face to face with a tiny, black-haired girl, who was watching her surroundings with wide, innocent eyes, for the first time in his life he thought he might actually come close to blacking out.

He choked on his own voice for a few seconds before he managed to choke out, "What in Kami's name are you doing here?"

Chiara's face hardened and she crossed her arms. "I came here to train."

"Son Chiara," Piccolo began to scold. "You have made a very…"

"Don't," Chiara cut in. "Don't tell me I was wrong to come here. Don't tell me I shouldn't be here. I'm tired of people shutting me out, like I'm not really a part of the team. Like I'm only in the way. I'm a good fighter and I can be better still, if people will just give me a chance."

Piccolo was silent for a long moment. He realized there really was no point to having this conversation since the door wouldn't open anymore and they were, for better or worse, stuck in here. He took a deep breath and swallowed the rest of the angry words he had been planning on spouting, before he turned away from her.

"I hope you realize this is going to be hard," Piccolo said. "And you'll have to train at all hours of the day."

"I know," Chiara said. "I know you won't coddle me. You never have before."

The last words were added in a soft voice but Piccolo heard them regardless. He scoffed. He knew she was referring to her days in the woods with him and Gohan, and if she thought he hadn't been coddling her then, she was being naïve. But he didn't need to tell her all that. He turned back to her and sneered when he saw what she was wearing.

"A dress doesn't make for good training attire," he said.

Chiara looked down at the white lacy dress she was wearing and blushed a little.

"My mom insisted I wear it," Chiara said. "I didn't want to. I wanted to wear my battle clothes but they were torn up, and my other clothes are just as…"

"Never mind that," Piccolo cut in impatiently, though not too harshly. "Just hold still."

Chiara did as she was told as Piccolo's hand came over the top of her head and smiled down at herself when she saw the new fighting clothes she was wearing. They were great, they looked just like her daddies. She looked up at Piccolo, still smiling, but her smile quickly disappeared when she saw he didn't look pleased, in fact he looked angry. She swallowed hard as she realized that his anger would probably show in training.

"If you think my anger is bad," Piccolo said, accurately reading her thoughts, "wait until your father gets a hold of you when he realizes what you've done."

Chiara paled at the thought before steeling herself. She had done what was necessary and she would face any and all repercussions when it got to that.

Training turned out to be as bad as Chiara expected and worse. Piccolo was hard on her, harder than he had ever been. He forced her to fight until she could no longer stand and every day ended with Piccolo depositting her on her bed, albeit more gently than he would have anyone else.

Piccolo sighed as he sat next to Chiara's bed, looking down at the small half-Saiyan that was currently fast asleep, trying to sleep off her exhaustion. He knew he was being too hard on her, he was taking his frustration out on her and he knew he shouldn't do that, but he couldn't help it.

'_What was she thinking, sneaking in like that?' _he thought darkly. Although, even he had to admit that she was doing very well. Every time she slept and healed she became stronger than the time before and Piccolo was beginning to become very impressed.

They had been in the Room of Spirit and Time for almost six months and they had been training every day for those entire six months. Piccolo barely slept so Chiara was able to sleep anywhere she wanted, but she had picked the smallest bed and rarely slept anywhere else. He supposed it reminded her of home.

Food was something Piccolo didn't need so a lot of it went to Chiara. All of it went to Chiara. She didn't eat the same way and at the same speed as her father and brother but she did eat a lot.

'_How the girl can stay that small while eating that much is a mystery,' _Piccolo mused as he heard her snore lightly, her small form completely hidden by the blankets. She mumbled something incoherent and Piccolo thought he caught something about a puppy.

His face visibly softened and he gently placed a hand on the small head hidden underneath the blankets. He scowled when he realized what he was doing and he quickly got to his feet.

"You're gonna wind up making me soft, kid," he said quietly, before stalking off.

He would train and train hard, maybe he could train any and all weakness right out of himself. He snorted as he thought about that. He had been going soft ever since he had started training the two Sons, and as he glanced back at the room the smallest of the two now lay sleeping in, he knew he'd never go back to being the way he was again.

_768 A.D. May the 18th._

They stepped out of the chamber and Chiara just barely managed to step aside as Vegeta blew by them, not even looking at them before the door shut again. Chiara blinked as the light of the sun hit her face and waited for her eyes to adjust. When they finally did, she wished they hadn't.

Goku seethed as he waited for the door to the Room of Spirit and Time to open up. He was no longer as angry as he had been when he had just found out, but he was still furious. '_She went and did it again,' _he fumed to himself.

The others, who had gathered there, stayed out of Goku's way. It was very rare for Goku to be that angry, but they knew enough to keep away. Normally, Krillin would have jokingly told Goku that he would pop a blood vessel if he kept it up, but even he didn't feel the need to go near enough this time.

Goku looked up when sound came from the door to the Room. Vegeta passed him but he barely noticed. He was completely focused on the door. It opened and after Vegeta had shoved his way in, the two previous occupants walked out into the sunlight.

He watched as his daughter blinked owlishly in the bright light, and as he walked to them, the scowl still on his face, he opened his mouth to start yelling. Then he got his first real look at his little girl and all but forgot why he was angry.

She had grown. She was still smaller than her brother but much bigger than she had been before. And stronger, a lot stronger. He almost smiled when he saw that her hair had grown long enough to reach her waist and it was standing up in all directions in stubborn spikes. She definitely got her hair from him.

The smile was kept at bay, however, by the fact that she had gone into the Room of Spirit and Time, a potentially dangerous place, without his consent. He crossed his arms as his daughter walked up to him. She held her head high but he could see in her eyes that she was worried about how he might react.

'_And she should be,' _he thought angrily. '_I'm going to ground her so long, she won't remember what outside looks like.'_

"Goku," Piccolo cut in just as Goku was about to speak. "We need to talk."

Goku frowned at Piccolo. Why did he need to talk to him now? He needed to speak to his daughter. Goku sighed as he realized that Piccolo wouldn't ask to speak with him if it wasn't important, so he nodded before giving his daughter a look that clearly stated that they _would_ talk.

Chiara swallowed hard as he watched her father walk away. She never did find out what it was Piccolo said to her father but when he returned to her side after a while, he was no longer as angry as he had been and all he said to her was that if she ever did anything like that again, he'd leave the punishment to her mom. That was reason enough for Chiara to never do it again.

After delivering that warning, Goku seemed to completely relax. He smiled at his daughter and Chiara smiled back when she realized that they hadn't seen eachother in a year as they had both been in the Room and they hadn't seen eachother in between.

They hugged warmly, though the happiest reunion was when Gohan and Chiara saw eachother again later that day. They laughed happily as they held eachother and both spoke at the same time. Neither could understand what the other was saying but it didn't matter.

When they finally calmed down, Gohan told her about his year in the Room and Chiara told him about hers. Gohan also told her about how he had visited a village that day and had saved a girl called Lime from a gang called the Barbon brothers.

Chiara was in awe, her brother was so strong. She just knew he'd be able to beat Cell, she now understood that he or their father would be the one to do so. No one else would be strong enough. She smiled as she realized as long as she and her mom had her brother and her dad, they'd be safe.

_768 A.D. May the 19th._

It was another week until Cell's tournament and Goku had decided that they had done what they could. They would relax and get mentally ready for the big battle. They decided to have a picnic, and they invited Krillin along. Sometime around noon, Cell wiped out the entire Royal Army.

Goku, Gohan, Krillin and Chiara sensed it happen and Chiara gasped before she went to take off. She never got far though as she found herself being grabbed by Goku from behind and he held her where she was.

"Dad, let go," Chiara demanded, struggling fiercely against her Super Saiyan father.

"I know what you're planning on doing," Goku said. "And you can forget it."

"We can't let him do this," Chiara cried, still struggling.

"Don't worry, Chi," Goku soothed. "Cell won't get away with this. He _will_ be defeated."

Chiara stopped struggling and looked down. "It just hurts to do nothing."

"I know," Goku said, turning Chiara around and hugging her. "But it'll be okay."

Chiara held onto her father as he hugged her to him and sniffled. "Okay, daddy."

They were all rather subdued after that so they decided to cut their outing short and head for the Kame House, where they would have gone after their outing anyway. Goku was driving the car, ChiChi giving him directions from the seat next to him, even though he knew exactly where he was going, and the twins and Krillin sat in the backseat.

Chiara was preoccupied as they drove home and only half listened to her mom, dad, twin and friend chat. She was angry, angry at Cell for doing what he was doing, angry at the world in general for being so unfair to those who couldn't really protect themselves, like the army men.

But mostly, she was angry at herself for not training harder and becoming stronger. Her father was a Super Saiyan, and so was her twin, why wasn't she? She had trained so hard in the time chamber and she still couldn't do it.

She shook her head to clear it as she heard somebody calling her name. She looked up and saw Gohan looking at her with a worried look on his face. She forced a smile onto hers and nodded reassuringly. She wouldn't worry him, he had enough to worry about.

Note: So there it is, a slightly longer chapter to make up for all the previous shorter ones. I hope you all liked it.


	27. Chapter 27: The Horror of the

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: For chapter 26 I got a review from Chibi Super Pan which said that I should describe the fights. I know that a lot of people prefer it that way, but I'm lousy at describing fights so I'm not going to. To make up for it, I've extended the Cell Saga by one chapter…this chapter. I hope that makes up for it. I've also changed the ending of chapter 26 to suit this one.

_Chapter XXVII: The Horror of the Dragonballs._

_768 A.D. May the 19th._

Their trip to the Kame House suddenly came to a halt when Goku pulled the car over and got out. The look on his face was grim as he told them he needed to go ask Piccolo something important. Before any of them could say anything, he used his instant translocation technique and vanished.

"That's odd," ChiChi said. "What does what happened have to do with…Piccolo?"

The twins shrugged simultaneously. The driver of the car having left, it was up to ChiChi to drive the rest of the way, and if there was one thing ChiChi didn't know, it was how to drive. The finally arrived at the Kame House, remarkably unscathed and entered.

"Hello, master Roshi," Gohan called happily.

"Well, hello, Gohan," master Roshi greeted. "Boy, you've gotten so big."

"I'm afraid Goku won't be joining us today, master Roshi," ChiChi said as she entered. "He took off and left us in the car. Of course, it didn't help that none of us knows how to drive," she continued as Gohan planted himself on the ground near the tv. "I'm just glad the roads were clear," she finished.

Master Roshi nodded before catching sight of Chiara, who was standing near Gohan. "Well," he said, a smile on his face. "It looks like Gohan's not the only one who got bigger. How did you grow so fast, Chiara?"

"Don't get me started on that," ChiChi cut in. "I told Goku from the very start that that Piccolo was bad news and what he did to my little girl is proof of it. Of course, Goku won't see it."

"What happened?" Roshi asked confusedly.

"That monster took my baby into some place called a time chamber and forced her to train," ChiChi ranted. "Now just look at her. She doesn't fit into any of her dresses anymore."

"Thank heavens for small favors," Chiara whispered and Gohan and Krilling chuckled quietly.

They were all interrupted by a special news bulletin about the soldiers that had been killed. Yamcha joined them at the tv as the man told them to stay strong and that all they could now was pray.

"Oh no, guys, what are we gonna do?" Krillin asked.

No one had the answer to that so no one spoke. A while later they were all sitting near the tv, drinking coffee and soda and watching the broadcasts. Krillin was half asleep.

"Where is dad?" Chiara asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Gohan sighed. "But I hope he comes back soon."

They were once again interrupted by the tv, this time it was something less serious, but no less disturbing. Chiara scoffed as the man announced Hercule, saying that he was going to take part in the tournament against Cell.

"We're saved," Chiara mock cheered.

"Hey," master Roshi said as he and ChiChi joined them. "Who's the freakshow?"

"He's the world champion of Martial Arts," Yamcha said, sounding anything but excited.

Hercule went on to proclaim that Cell had used tricks to defeat the army, by planting explosives in advance and that he, Hercule, would defeat Cell using only his 'baby finger'.

"That guy is a total nutbar," Krillin sighed.

"Yeah," Chiara agreed. "But the sad truth is that he doesn't believe he is, and neither does anyone else. They all think he's a hero."

"It's dad who's the hero," Gohan said and Chiara nodded.

And as if he knew they were talking about him, Goku appeared. ChiChi was on him like a shot.

"Now where in the world have you been, Goku? Do you think I know how to drive?" she ranted, grabbing him by the front of his jacket.

"Sorry about that, ChiChi," Goku said quickly. "But could I just talk to Krillin, Gohan and Chiara for a minute? There's somebody back at Kami's place who'd really like to see them."

"Who is it, dad?" Gohan asked.

"Is this person, you know, friendly?" Krillin asked.

"Do we even know this person?" Chiara asked.

"Come and find out," Goku said.

They all joined hands and Goku teleported them to Kami's look-out. They were very surprised to see Dende standing there.

"Krillin, Gohan, Chiara, you're here," Dende enthused.

"Hey, look," Krillin said to the twins. "Dende."

"Dende," Chiara said, running up the small Namek and grabbing hold of his left hand, while Gohan did the same to his right.

"It's been so long," Krillin said, joining them. "It sure is good to see you, my friend."

"So is it true?" Gohan asked. "You're gonna take over Kami's position?"

"I think so," Dende said.

"Guardian of Earth," Krillin said reverently. "Wauw, that's one impressive title."

"Now we can see eachother every day," the twin chorused, before looking at eachother in surprise.

"Now, Dende," Piccolo cut in. "Are you absolutely sure you're ready to handle the dragonballs?"

"Take it easy, Piccolo," Goku said. "Besides, the old guy told me that Dende was one of the most gifted Nameks on their planet."

And that apparently was that. Dende was the new guardian, and with a new guardian, new dragonballs would be created.

"Would the dragon be powerful enough to bring back everybody Cell killed?" Goku asked.

"Yes, but I'm afraid it will only be able to grant two wishes," Dende said, looking rather apologetic.

"I'm sure that'll be fine," Goku assured.

Dende created the new dragonballs and the dragonballs flew off in all directions. Finding the dragonballs was something of a chore, but in the end and after about five days Goku found all of them.

_768 A.D. May the 24th._

They gathered the dragonballs on Dende's look-out and they got ready to summon the new dragon.

Chiara slowly edged away from the dragonballs. They felt the same as all other dragonballs always had. Strange. Wrong somehow. Goku noticed Chiara backing away and frowned thoughtfully.

"Hey," he said as he approached her.

Chiara looked up at her father and smiled. "Hi," she said.

"Wanna try and hold a dragonball?" Goku asked.

The question was so unexpected that for a moment, Chiara didn't understand what it meant. When she did, her eyes widened and she backed away. Goku squatted down in front of his daughter, amazed when he actually had to look slightly up.

"There's nothing to be scared of," he said gently. "Don't you wanna be rid of this fear?"

Chiara nodded hesitantly.

"Well, the best way to do that is to face it head on," Goku said.

He got up and took her hand, gently guiding her to where the dragonballs lay. The others looked on silently. Chiara resisted as they got closer, but Goku kept going.

'_This isn't a good idea,' _Chiara thought wildly. '_I don't want this.'_

Goku reached down and picked up one of the dragonballs. He then held it out to her, obviously expecting her to take it. The nausea the dragonball was causing was all but overwhelming now, her head felt like it might explode.

She didn't want to touch it, it felt like such a bad idea to touch it, but her father looked so hopeful and her brother was nodding encouragingly -- of course he was, their mental link wasn't fully open, he couldn't feel what she was feeling -- how could she refuse?

She swallowed hard before reaching out for the dragonball. She felt the tips of her fingers come into contact with the dragonball, she felt the scorching heat rush up her arm and felt despair slam into her, before everything went black.

Goku saw Chiara's eyes roll into the back of her head and dropped the dragonball in his rush to catch her. The dragonball, being made of sturdy stuff, thunked on to the ground, glinting innocently in the sun. It lay forgotten as Goku carried his daughter a slight distance away and gently put her down, frantically calling her name.

"Chi," Gohan also called, instantly by his twin's side.

"What happened, Goku?" Piccolo demanded.

"I don't know. She barely touched it and she passed out," the distraught father said.

"That's not all that's happened," Krillin said grimly, holding Chiara's small hands in his own.

He showed the others the palm of her hand and they all gawked in shock. There were large, angry-looking blisters on her fingers. They looked painful.

"What have I done?" Goku cried. "She didn't want to touch the dragonball, but I kept insisting."

"It's not your fault, Goku, you didn't know," Krillin said.

"What are we going to do?" Gohan asked anxiously. "She's not waking up."

"I can help," Dende cut in. He blushed as everyone looked at him. "I can heal her."

"Of course," Krillin cried happily. "Dende."

"Please, help her," Goku pleaded.

Krillin moved aside so Dende could reach Chiara and they all watched tensely as he healed her. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was really only seconds, she opened her eyes. She blinked several times, taking in the relieved faces around her.

She finally smiled shyly and said, "Hi."

"Hey there, little one," Goku said softly.

"What happened?" Chiara asked, sitting up slowly, and they told her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Goku said when they were done. "I should have listened to you."

"That's okay," Chiara said, and it was.

It wasn't her father's fault that she couldn't handle being near the dragonballs. It wasn't her father's fault that the dragonball had hurt her. She didn't know who or what _was _at fault, she only knew she was never going near a dragonball again.


	28. Chapter 28: The Aftermath of an

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XXVIII: The Aftermath of an Android's Rampage._

_768 A.D. May the 26th._

Confusion. Despair. Hurt. And finally anger. All of these emotions went through Son Chiara as she sat on the edge of what was once Kami's look-out. Kami was now one with Piccolo so Dende would be taking over the 'job' of being God. Not that it mattered right then. No, she had only one thing on her mind.

He was doing it again. Their father was abandoning them again. After the Namek saga, Goku had refused to come home for some reason and when he had returned he had sworn to them that he wouldn't do it again. He had lied. Chiara closed her eyes and remembered what had happened.

It had been Cell vs Goku. Goku had given up in the middle of the fight, saying Gohan was better suited to fight Cell. He had also made it clear to Chiara that _only_ Gohan would be facing Cell, which made Chiara wonder why she had bothered to train at all.

'_He didn't even care that I had become stronger, and that I could have helped,'_ Chiara scowled.

Gohan did fight Cell but he was getting beaten at first. What Gohan needed was a reason to transcend the level of Super Saiyan but there was no such reason. Until, that was, Cell created seven mini Cells. The Cell juniors beat up on the other warriors, save Chiara who had been forced to stay back by Goku, and got Gohan mad, but not mad enough.

Android 16 entered the fray and tried to self-destruct but it didn't work for some reason and he was destroyed, his only other appearance was when Hercule threw his head to Gohan and 16 spoke to Gohan, telling him it was okay to let go.

Despite 16's encouraging words and his subsequent destruction, Gohan just couldn't manage to summon enough rage to become stronger. Realizing that if Gohan didn't get mad he wouldn't be able to beat Cell, Chiara stepped in.

(_Flashback_)

"Chi, what are you doing?" Goku yelled. "Stay back like I told you."

"I'm sorry, dad, but something needs to happen," Chiara said determinedly. "Nothing would make Gohan more mad than somebody beating on me."

"What?" Krillin cried.

"You can't be serious," Piccolo cried. "Get back here."

Chiara merely shook her head and headed for Cell.

(_Flashback ends_)

Cell did in fact beat up on Chiara, enraging Gohan so much that he finally turned Super Saiyan II. Gohan killed all of the Cell jrs and beat up on Cell but he didn't finish him off. Chiara had pleaded with him to just finish it once and for all, but Gohan had all but ignored her, something he had never done before. He forced Cell to spit 18 out, making him return to his imperfect form.

In desperation Cell went to self-destruct and blow up the world. But Goku, not wanting his family and friends to be hurt, grabbed onto Cell, said his goodbyes and used instant teleportation to teleport Cell to King Kai's planet.

It had seemed as though it was over, and the z-fighters had already begun to mourn the loss of Goku, Gohan and Chiara in particular, but the fight wasn't over. Cell regenerated out of a single cell and the fight once again started. In the end Gohan defeated him with a Kamehameha, finally ending it all.

Chiara felt no resentment towards her brother, he hadn't known that this would happen and she didn't blame him for the way he chose to fight the battle. No, her resentment went to one person, and one person only. Son Goku.

After the fight they had gone to Dende's look-out. Trunks had been killed by Cell and was being carried by Tien. Krillin was holding a seemingly lifeless Android 18, Yamcha was carrying Gohan and Piccolo cradled a battered though still conscious Chiara. Dende had healed Gohan and Chiara. Android 18 had woken up on her own and she had quite unexpectedly turned on Krillin.

(_Flashback_)

"Expect me to fall at your feet now?" she queried. "Big strong boy rescues me so I'm his forever, that's it? I don't think so. I was wrong about you, Krillin."

"Wrong about him?" Chiara cried. "You ungrateful chunk of metal. Krillin bent over backwards to save your life, and what does he get in return? Nothing but insults. Fall at his feet? Don't flatter yourself, you're not worthy of falling at his feet."

Gohan grabbed Chiara by her arms and began to pull her away. "Come on, Chi."

Chiara huffed and walked away, leaving a very stunned 18 and a nervous and flabbergasted Krillin.

(_Flashback ends_)

They had gathered the dragonballs to make their wishes. Well, the others gathered them and Chiara avoided them like the plague. When they were all together, Earth's fighters prepared to make their two wishes.

They wished for everyone that Cell had hurt to be healed. Goku, however, wasn't wished back because Dende's dragon was linked to the Earth's dragon and Goku had already been wished back by that dragon before.

They thought about turning back time until before Goku was killed but that would have brought Cell back as well. Dende then said that they could wish for them all to be brought to Namek so they could use the Namek dragonballs to wish Goku back. Before they could, however, Goku cut in.

He claimed that he shouldn't be brought back since every bad guy that had ever come to Earth had been after him. If he wasn't there, they'd be safe. Everyone accepted this and said their goodbyes, except for Chiara, who stayed at a distance, a cold hard look in her eyes.

She had sat herself on the edge of the look-out and was now staring out into the distance as the others talked behind her. Their last wish had been made by Krillin and he had wished for the explosives to be removed from the Androids. #17 had been brought back by the first wish and now both Androids were free of the bombs. #18 left after telling Krillin she appreciated what he had done.

"Whoa, Krillin," Yamcha was saying. "You are so in there. That chick digs you. I can tell."

"Are you sure?" Chiara heard Krillin cry.

"Yeah, I'm sure, but she's a woman, dude," Yamcha said, sounding as though he was being choked. Apparently Krillin let him go after that, because Yamcha continued, "Like I say, she's a woman, so there's no telling, but I think you have a chance. Just listen to me, pal, and you'll make out just fine. After all, Krillin, it is my specialty. Trust me. Goku may have taught you to be a great fighter, but when it comes to love, I'm the master."

"That explains why you're single," Chiara snapped, not turning around.

Vegeta chuckled and Piccolo smirked as Yamcha spluttered indignantly. Gohan, however, picked up on Chiara's sadness through their mental link and walked to her. He sat down next to her and peered into her face. Her eyes were closed, her lips drawn into an angry pout.

"Hey," Gohan said in a soft voice. "What's wrong?"

Chiara's eyes flew open and she stared at her twin brother in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" she repeated. "What's wrong? Dad's abandoning us, that's what's wrong."

"That's not true, Chiara," Piccolo said. "You know it's not."

"It's not?" Chiara cried, jumping to her feet and turning to the Z-group. "Then why isn't he here right now? Why isn't he coming home with me and Gohan?"

"You heard what he said, if he comes back to Earth..." Piccolo began.

"Yes, I did hear what he said," Chiara said, cutting him off. "And it's a crock. He knows it is."

"Chiara..." Future Trunks said.

"I mean it. It never ends. Whether he's on Earth, or on some other planet, or dead, it never ends. He wasn't on Earth when Vegeta and Nappa came to Earth..." Chiara said, glancing at Vegeta, who met her eyes and stared at her unblinkingly.

"...he wasn't there when Garlic jr. came back and he wasn't there when Frieza and King Kold showed up," Chiara continued. "It never ends, he's just using this as an excuse, for Kami only knows what reason."

Silence fell over the group as they all stared at Chiara.

"Well, if he can be that cold to us, I can be that cold to him," Chiara said.

She walked to the side of Kami's look-out and stood on the ledge.

"Who's going to tell mom I wonder," she whispered so only Piccolo heard, before dropping herself off the side of the look-out and flying off, leaving the others to stare after her, wondering if she was right.

The next day a funeral was held for Goku and everyone was going, having decided that Goku was only doing what was best for Earth and everybody on it, but Chiara refused to go.

"I refuse to go to a funeral held for a man who voluntarily stays away from his family," Chiara said.

ChiChi insisted that she go but Chiara wouldn't hear of it. It turned into a very long and very loud argument, and normally Chiara would have long since given in, but not this time. This time she wouldn't budge an inch. They were all wrong about him. He wasn't the noble man they all thought he was.

Chiara got so angry at her father's refusal to return home and at her mother's insistence that she go to the funeral that she turned into a Super Saiyan and just about destroyed the house. ChiChi nearly had a heart-attack when she saw her daughter standing in front of her, her hair blonde and her eyes green.

ChiChi fainted and Chiara shot forward to catch her, involuntarily dropping out of her Super Saiyan form. When ChiChi woke up, she burst into tears, and she made Chiara swear that she would never 'turn into a hooligan' again. Chiara swore that she wouldn't but did try to afterwards. No matter what she did, however, she couldn't turn Super Saiyan again.

By chance, or maybe it was just bad luck, Chiara encountered Vegeta one day while visiting the Capsule Corporation. He asked her about her power-up about a month earlier and she told him that she had gone Super Saiyan.

He didn't seem very interested in her transformation but did tell her to meet him at the gravity room the next day. She showed up the next day and they trained together. It soon became a daily thing. She would train with Vegeta for several hours before going home to study.

She found Vegeta to be a lot tougher on her than Piccolo ever was, and she hadn't known that was possible. He showed her no mercy and more often than not she could barely walk at the end of their training, much less fly, and she was forced to call for Nimbus.

She was happy, though, happier than she had been in a while. She was getting stronger every day and she was developing new techniques. In the entire seven years that followed, she never managed to turn Super Saiyan again, but she enjoyed the training nonetheless. More than anything, she enjoyed the fact that Vegeta took her seriously, something her father had never truly done, she knew that now.

Vegeta was hard on her, and he never complimented her or encouraged her in anyway, except by taunting her, but she didn't need compliments or encouragement, she knew she was doing good.

And so it continued. In the following weeks, Vegeta became her official Senpai (superior) and in the seven years that followed the Cell saga, Chiara came into her own like she would never have done while being trained by her father.

Note: Okay, the end of the Cell saga, and the beginning of the Buu saga. About the Senpai name, I had originally planned on having Chiara call Vegeta her teacher, but the best word for teacher in Japanese is Sensei and that just felt wrong, so I decided to go with the Japanese word for superior instead. Senpai not only means superior, it can also mean senior (at work or at school) or elder.


	29. Chapter 29: Starting High School

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: The Buu Saga is, in my opinion, my best saga. I'm actually proud of it, and that's rare, trust me. It consists of different sized chapters, some very long, some very short, so I guess it's a good thing I update twice a week, instead of once. The chronology of most of my sagas is all messed up, and this saga is no exception. The tournament is all messed up, the whole Pteradons thing happens earlier than it should, etc. It also happens one year later than it should, but that's because it's meant to be seven years after the Cell saga which, in my story, is in 768. I should also note, without giving too much away, that I don't dislike Videl in any way. Any and all negative thoughts about her are Chiara's and Chiara's only. The dislike she has towards her doesn't last, they do become sisters-in-law after all (or is that sister-in-laws?). Remember, I will be writing stories about the seven years that have passed after this story is finished.

Buu Saga :

_Chapter XXIX: Starting High School._

_775 A.D. March the 28th._

The day had finally come. Gohan and Chiara would be going to an actual school for the first time ever. All of their studies had been done at home but now they would get to be in a classroom with others their own age. They couldn't wait.

The day started early for the Son twins, earlier than they were used to, but they didn't mind. They cleaned themselves up and hungrily devoured their breakfast before they got ready for school. Chiara peeked in on Goten, who was still fast asleep, and was amused to find the small boy only half on the bed. She adjusted him so that he was comfortable and pecked him on the forehead before leaving the room.

As she later stood outside waiting for her brother, she did a quick mental check of all the things she needed, and smiled as she realized she had it all with her. She adjusted the strap of her bag for what seemed the twentieth time that day and sighed.

'_And they say girls take long,'_ she mentally complained in a mock whine through her link with her brother.

'_Hey,' _the answer came from her twin. '_It's not my fault, Chi, I have to make sure I have everything.'_

Chiara smiled to herself. '_No worries, bro, we'll make it in time no matter how long you take.'_

"Well, gee," Gohan's voice came from behind her. "I wasn't taking that long."

Chiara chuckled and held up her hands in defense. "Okay, can we go now?"

"Sure," Gohan said, and they went to take off.

"Stop," their mother's voice rang out.

The demi-Saiyans turned and faced their mother, who was standing in the door opening, her fists on her hips.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she demanded.

The twins looked confused for a moment before they both realized and stepped forward to kiss their mother on the cheek. That being done, ChiChi began to look worried.

"Don't worry, mom, we'll be fine," Gohan said, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Oh, I know," ChiChi said. "I just can't believe time has gone by so fast. I can remember when you were still in your cradles."

"We're not moving out, mom, we're just going to school," Chiara said. "We'll be back this afternoon. But we have to go now. It's a long way to school."

"Maybe you could use your teleport technique," Gohan chipped in. "We'd be there in a second."

Chiara went to say something but was cut off by ChiChi.

"Oh no, no tricks," she snapped. "It's bad enough you two are flying, and that's only because it's too far to drive. If you think…"

"It's fine, mom, we won't use any tricks," Chiara cut in before ChiChi could start ranting. "Bye. Give Goten our love."

Chiara all but yanked Gohan with her as they took off.

"Be careful," ChiChi shouted after them, and then they were gone.

Once in the air, Chiara scowled at Gohan and snapped, "What did you go and do that for? You know mom doesn't like to be reminded of our training. She'll be forbidding us to train at all next."

"I'm sorry," Gohan said contritely. "I won't mention it again."

Chiara sighed and said, "It's not that you mentioned it. It's that you mentioned it to mom of all people."

"I know, I didn't mean to," Gohan said.

Chiara smiled at Gohan to let him know that it was okay. They flew on and Gohan took the time to study his twin sister. It was fairly obvious that they were _un_identical twins since apart from some features -- their eyes mainly, and their hair -- they looked nothing alike.

For one thing Chiara was much smaller. While he was well over six feet, she barely reached five feet. While he had the muscle of a fighter, just about the same amount as their father had, she was about as muscular as their mother was, less so even.

Their eyes were the same but being of different genders meant their chins, noses, cheekbones and even ears were different. Their hair was also the same, though hers was longer, it stood up in stubborn and oft times unmanageable spikes. Saiyan hair, Gohan thought with a smile.

Whether or not his sister was pretty, he couldn't say, though he supposed if the whistles she got from guys when they went into town were any indication, she was pretty. She certainly didn't think so herself, judging from the amount of times he had caught her looking in the mirror, frowning unhappily.

After a while Gohan spoke up again. "You know, it's funny," he said.

"What's funny?" Chiara questioned lightly.

"That both you and dad have a teleport technique," Gohan said.

Chiara's face darkened considerably and although Gohan didn't see it, he felt her mood change. She stopped flying and turned to Gohan, who also stopped.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Nothing, just that I guess you two are a lot alike," Gohan said and before he knew it he found himself grabbed by the front of the shirt and pulled towards a very angry Chiara.

"Let's get something straight, I am not now nor will I ever be like that man. I don't look like him, I don't fight like him and I most certainly don't act like him," she snapped. "Got it?"

"Sure," Gohan quickly said. "Whatever you say."

Chiara released him and flew on, Gohan following her at a slight distance.

They flew for quite some time when Gohan told Chiara that he saw something happening beneath them. Chiara commented that it was only natural that something was happening down there since they were flying over a city but when Gohan said that there were criminals down there, Chiara agreed that they would take a look. The criminals turned out to be burglars and the fight, if it could be called that, was over soon.

"What did you go Super Saiyan for?" Chiara questioned when they were flying again. "They were weak."

"So I wouldn't be recognized," Gohan said. "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

"Oh, you're so right, Gohan," Chiara said sarcastically. "Your hair and eyes changed colour, you were unrecognizable."

School turned out to be different than both Saiyans thought it would be. For Gohan it wasn't quite as pleasant as he had hoped. There was the fact that a small blonde called Erasa permanently attached herself to his arm, a girl called Videl was very suspicious of the twins, treating them like they were scum, and a blond guy called Sharpener had the nerve to hit on his sister. All in all, it was a terrible day.

For Chiara, school was great, the only thing she hadn't expected was the amount of work they had to do. She had thought studying at home was bad, this was even worse. She ignored most of the students in the class, though she liked Erasa well enough. She was rather amused by the antics of a guy called Sharpener, who she supposed was cute, though she strongly suspected that he was just trying to impress that Videl girl, if his glances at Videl every time he said something were any indication.

And _there_ was the one thing that bothered Chiara about school. Videl Satan. She was the daughter of the supposed World Champion Hercule Satan. Apparently nobody had bothered to tell little miss Satan that her father was a brainless idiot. She seemed to expect everyone to worship her, though she was annoyed by those who did.

Classes were fairly easy for both Sons, despite the large amount of work they had to do. Gym was a dream, though nothing was as fast or as dangerous as they would have liked. Running was a piece of cake. Sports were easy. And martial arts classes were a joke.

Gohan had told her that they were supposed to blend in with everyone else but there was no way Chiara was losing to any of the people at school, so she told him she would just have to stand out during those classes. Gohan supposed he should have expected that, she did spend an awful lot of time with Vegeta after all.


	30. Chapter 30: Of Boyfriends and Brothers

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: I should probably mention about my warnings that they are almost all going to be 'None'. I won't be swearing in this fic, nor will there be any graphic sexuality. The only thing I'll need to warn against will be violence, but since I'm no good at fight scenes, even that will be rare.

_Chapter XXX: Of Boyfriends and Brothers._

_775 A.D. April the 1st._

As they were flying home at the end of their first week, Chiara noticed Gohan had a sizable scowl on his face. Her brother almost never scowled so she flew closer.

"What's wrong, bro?"

Gohan started a little before shaking his head and saying, "Nothing."

"That scowl doesn't look like nothing," Chiara said. "What's up?"

Gohan merely shook his head again and sped up a little bit. Chiara followed and looked at him, getting a little worried.

"Did something happen that I don't know about?" Chiara asked. "Or are you still angry that I refuse to lose in martial arts class? Because I told you, I don't want to stand out any more than you do, but I'm not losing to any…"

"It's not about that," Gohan cut in, the scowl still firmly in place. "Just leave it."

Chiara sped up and stopped right in front of him, blocking his path. He just barely stopped in time to avoid hitting her. He glared at her but she wasn't fazed.

"Chi…" he began.

"What's up, Gohan?" Chiara asked. "Was it something I did?"

"No," Gohan said.

"Was it something you did?" Chiara asked.

"No," Gohan cried.

"Then what..." Chiara began.

"It's Sharpener, okay?" Gohan snapped.

"Sharpener?" Chiara questioned in confusion.

"He's been hitting on you, the whole week we've been there he's been hitting on you," Gohan all but snarled. "How dare that slime even look at you? I should go find him and make him take back everything he has said to you."

Chiara was silent for a long stunned moment. She had never seen Gohan rant like that over something like this before and it took her a moment to respond. Her face softened and she smiled as she realized her brother was feeling protective of her concerning a potential boyfriend, her very first.

"Oh, Gohan," Chiara said, before she hugged him. "There's no need to be so angry."

"Yes, there is," Gohan grumbled but he hugged her back.

"No, there isn't," Chiara said, trying not to sound too amused. "For one thing, Sharpener isn't as interested in me as you might think. He's got this huge crush on the Satan girl, though why I couldn't tell you, and he's just trying to make her jealous. For another, I would never be interested in someone like him. He's what they call a player. And I've already got a boyf…"

Chiara broke off and clasped a hand over her mouth, blushingly turning her eyes down.

"You have a boyfriend?" Gohan asked in disbelief.

"Well, there's no need to act like it's impossible," Chiara snapped, before she blushed again. "Some people actually like me."

"No, I didn't mean it like that, I meant why haven't I ever seen him?" Gohan asked. "Why haven't I met him?"

"Because…we want to take our time," Chiara said. "We want to see how it goes before I introduce him to you, Goten and mom."

Gohan slowly nodded, still staring at her like she'd grown another head. Chiara huffed and took off, Gohan following her. They flew for a while before Gohan spoke up again.

"Can I meet him soon?" he asked.

"I don't know," Chiara said. "We'll see."

"Will you at least tell me who it is?" he asked.

"No," Chiara said.

"Do I know him?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know, I guess you do," Chiara said, now glaring at him.

"Is it…Tien?" Gohan asked.

Chiara shook her head, stubbornly flying on.

"Is it…Yamcha?" Gohan asked, and laughed as he found himself grabbed by his shirt.

Chiara glared at him and spat, "You take that back right now."

"Okay, I take it back," Gohan said, still laughing. "I didn't really think it was him."

Chiara, realizing she had been baited, let go of his shirt and huffed, though a smile slowly appeared on her face. She crossed her arms and gave him a playful glare.

"You shouldn't say things like that," she said. "You might make me lose my lunch."

Gohan grinned at that. He liked Yamcha himself, but Chiara could be pretty funny in her insults sometimes.

"Why don't you like Yamcha?" Gohan asked her as they flew on.

"Because he's a pompous and arrogant windbag," Chiara said matter of factly.

"Isn't Vegeta much the same?" Gohan ventured carefully.

"My Senpai is everything he says he is, that makes it confidence not arrogance," Chiara said indignantly.

"And Yamcha?" Gohan asked.

"Yamcha is nothing but a weakling, who doesn't seem to realize that he's a weakling, what with all the mouthing off he does," Chiara said.

Gohan couldn't help but think that that was a typical Vegeta answer and he strongly suspected that she only really disliked Yamcha because Vegeta did. She had really taken to the Saiyan in the years that followed the Cell battle, defending him to everyone who would speak badly of him, which she continued to do to that day.

After another ten minutes they finally saw their house in the distance, and they both smiled, happy to be home. The second they landed, a small replica of Son Goku came charging out of the house and into the arms of the first sibling he reached, which happened to be Gohan.

Gohan laughed as Goten hugged the stuffing out of him, proclaiming loudly that he had missed them and indignantly asking why they hadn't woken him up when they left that morning.

"You never wake me up," Goten pouted. "And I wanna say goodbye when you leave."

"We tried to wake you up," Gohan said with a smile. "You told us to go away."

"Really?" Goten said meekly, before his face grew determined. "Well, tomorrow I'll wake up, tomorrow I'll say goodbye before you go."

"That's sweet, little man," Chiara said, spreading her arms and letting Goten crawl into them. "But tomorrow we don't have to go to school."

"Really?" Goten asked, his face lighting up. "You mean you'll have all day to play with me?"

Chiara and Gohan both chuckled at that.

"Yeah, sport," Gohan said as they went inside. "All day."

Later that day, Chiara was no longer in quite as good a mood. During dinner the subject of Son Goku had come up, as it always seemed to. Goten wanted to know all about him, even though he had been told so many times before, it should be engraved in his memory.

'_Of course,' _Chiara mused with a small smile. '_Not a whole lot stays in little Son Goten's memory.'_

As much as she loved her little brother, though, she wished he wouldn't keep asking. The mere mention of the man had put a sour taste in her mouth and she had asked to be excused. She had needed some fresh air and some space to think.

Meditating usually helped to clear her thoughts and banish any memories of Son Goku to the farthest reaches of her mind, but this time it didn't help. This time he stayed at the forefront. It still infuriated her, even after all these years, that no one blamed him for staying away.

Everyone thought of him as a hero and a great man. Well, maybe he was a great man and he certainly was a hero, he saved Earth often enough, but he was a husband and father as well. And forgetting about that and going off to Dende knows where just wasn't acceptable.

She sighed as she walked through the forest, finally sitting herself down on a small patch of grass. She folded her legs underneath her and sighed, once again attempting to meditate. Whenever she meditated, she curled up into a small ball. A very small ball.

She had always been small as a child, much smaller than her twin brother. And, unlike her brother, she had stayed small. She stood just under five feet tall, and weighed less than a hundred pounds. Her brother was a good fifteen inches taller than her, and outweighed her by over a hundred pounds.

Of course, size wasn't everything. When fighting, she was easily a match for her brother. Sometimes she even beat him. She knew in her heart that she was only really a match for him because he was no longer training as much as he used to, and she was training with Vegeta every day, though she still hadn't managed to turn into a Super Saiyan again. She had flickered into the transformation once or twice over the previous years, but she had never fully made it again.

It bothered her to no end to know that if her brother had continued his intense training, she would be nowhere near his level. She sometimes thought that the frustration she felt must be akin to what Vegeta felt whenever comparing himself to her father.

Chiara opened her eyes and scowled. Why did she do that? Why did she suddenly think of _him_? And why did she think of him as her father? '_He's not my father, he abandoned us, what kind of father abandons his family?' _She angrily shook her head. She wouldn't consider him her father again, not after he had so cruelly broken her mother's heart.

And he had. Her mother denied it, of course. She said he had done what he thought was right, that she only cried all the time because she missed him. Sometimes she even lied, and said she merely had something in her eye.

But Chiara knew, she felt her mother's sadness every day, her grief and sometimes her anger. And yet… there was forgiveness there as well. And Chiara just couldn't understand that. '_Why would she forgive him? Especially just like that,'_ Chiara thought irritably. Gohan was even worse, he just pretended Son Goku hadn't abandoned them at all, that he had merely gone on a holiday. But Chiara wouldn't forgive and forget. '_Oh no,'_ she thought as she gritted her teeth. '_Not ever.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a familiar powerlevel coming closer. She looked up and watched as her Senpai landed in front of her. She got up quickly and looked at him as he approached her, his usual scowl on his face.

"Runt," he said, looking none too pleased.

"Senpai," Chiara said softly, bowing respectfully. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" he repeated, his scowl deepening. "Your powerlevel went through the roof several times, that's what I'm doing here."

"Oh," Chiara said, looking around. "Oh," she said again, this time louder when she saw that the area around her was bare and scorched, whereas before there had obviously been trees and plants.

"Yes, oh," Vegeta sneered, before harshly asking, "Would you like to explain to me why you nearly went Super Saiyan in the middle of a field?"

Chiara lowered her head in shame. "I was thinking… about _him_."

"Kakkarot," Vegeta said. It was a statement, not a question.

Chiara nodded. "I've been trying not to, like you said I should, but I can't help it. At home he's all they ever talk about, and…it seems like I'm the only one who blames him for leaving us."

Vegeta nodded slowly. Seven years ago Chiara would never have believed it to be possible, but Vegeta had not only become her teacher, but her confidant as well. Whenever she needed someone to talk to, she knew where to find him. He never coddled her, or chastised her, just…listened.

"I'm so tired of hearing about how great he is," Chiara continued. "I just want someone to see him for what he's truly being, selfish. He left mom while she was pregnant, which he must have known about, and he left Gohan and me when we needed him the most. How can he be a great man when he does all that?"

Vegeta said nothing. He never did. But he listened, and somehow Chiara felt he understood. And that was all she really needed. For someone to listen and understand, even if they didn't agree. She went to say something else, when she and Vegeta both felt another powerlevel approach.

"I was wondering what was taking him so long," Vegeta commented.

Chiara watched as Gohan landed next to her. He grasped her shoulders and quickly looked her over for injuries.

"Are you alright?" he questioned frantically. "What happened?"

Chiara blushed sheepishly and scratched the back of her head, unconsciously looking a lot like her father, and if anyone had dared to tell her that at that time she probably _would_ have gone Super Saiyan.

"I'm sorry, Gohan, I kind of got worked up and I wasn't paying attention to my powerlevel," Chiara said.

Gohan visibly calmed down. "Worked up?"

Chiara nodded slowly and sighed in relief when her brother didn't look angry, just worried. Her attention was drawn back to her Senpai when he once again told her to mind her powerlevel and not to lose control like that.

"And don't forget training tomorrow," he reminded her.

"I have homework," Chiara said.

"You can do that when we're done training," Vegeta snapped. "Blasted school is cutting into your training time as it is."

Chiara nodded and the twins watched as Vegeta took off again. When Gohan asked her what she had been worked up about, she brushed the question off and merely smiled, there was no point in telling him she was upset about Son Goku again, he didn't understand, he probably never would.


	31. Chapter 31: Small Creature, Short Temper

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XXXI: Small Creature, Short Temper, Big Date._

_775 A.D. April the 5th._

Adventure never seemed to be far away for the Son twins. Adventure followed them this day as well as they encountered a small Pteradon on their way home. Chiara very affectionately called the little one, 'Chibi'. As it turned out the little creature was being chased by Musuka, a corrupt circus owner who mistreated the poor animal.

Naturally, Chiara and Gohan wouldn't let such a thing be and they rescued the small dinosaur from the cruel man. They should have been able to bring Chibi back to his parents and that should have been the end of it. But, no. Videl Satan showed up and put a stop to all of that.

She stood in front of them and with a decidedly annoying tone in her voice, to Chiara anyway, she tried to make them hand the small Pteradon over so she could return him to his 'rightful owner'.

"Are you weak in the head?" Chiara sneered at Videl. "This little fellow doesn't have a rightful owner, he has parents. Parents who will most likely be tearing up the city very soon looking for their baby."

Chiara went to walk on but Videl stood in front of her again.

"Likely story," Videl sneered back. "Hand it over."

"Get out of my way," Chiara snapped. "Before I make you get out of my way."

"I'm not moving," Videl said firmly, not realizing the danger she was in.

"No?" Chiara asked in a deceptively sweet voice. "Then I suppose I'll have to move you."

Chiara drew her hand back and went to punch Videl but soon found her arm being grabbed by someone, stopping her from killing Videl.

"What are you doing?" Chiara snarled at Gohan.

'_You can't hit her, Chi,' _Gohan sent through their mental link. '_You'll kill her.'_

'_She deserves it,'_ Chiara furiously sent back.

Videl watched with a stunned look on her face as the two black-haired teens glared at eachother without ever saying a word, when suddenly Musuka turned up with a whole army of people. Finally realizing she had been wrong and Musuka was evil, Videl helped Chiara and Gohan dispose of him. They soon after returned Chibi to his parents.

"Well," Gohan said to Videl with a smile. "Thanks for helping."

"Ha," Chiara sneered mockingly. "Some help she was. All she did was stand in the way."

Videl scowled at Chiara but Chiara paid her no mind.

"I'm going home," Chiara said, walking off. "I'll see you there, bro."

"Yeah, sure," Gohan said, watching his sister walk off.

When Chiara was gone, Videl huffed and crossed her arms.

"The nerve of her, calling me all those names and then telling me I was in the way," Videl said.

"Well, my sister has a bit of a temper," Gohan said.

"A bit?" Videl all but shouted. "That's like saying the ocean holds a little bit of water."

Gohan chuckled nervously at this, putting his hand behind his head. "I guess."

Videl suddenly looked thoughtful. "You guys are twins, how come you're not like her?"

"Well, we're unidentical twins, I guess that makes us different," Gohan said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Videl said, before frowning. "Well, I'm glad you're not like her."

Gohan frowned a little at that. "She's only like that when she's annoyed. She's really a great person."

Smartly, Videl recognized that Gohan was defending his twin and would continue to do so, so she nodded her assent, though she didn't believe a word of it.

When he got home, Gohan found Chiara and Goten playing in the backyard, while ChiChi was in the kitchen making dinner.

"Hello, dear," ChiChi said. "How was school?"

"It was fine, mom," Gohan said, his mouth watering as the scent of dinner hit his nostrils.

"Chiara told me about what happened after school," ChiChi said. "And about how this girl tried to stop you from helping that poor little Pteradon."

"Oh, yeah, Videl," Gohan said, as he edged closer to the stove. "She did, though she helped us in the end."

"Did she? Chiara was rather skeptical about that," ChiChi said, slapping Gohan's hand as it tried to lift the lid of one of the pans.

"Only because she doesn't like Videl," Gohan said, rubbing his hand though it didn't hurt. "Videl really did help. We couldn't really do too much what with us having to remain unnoticed and all."

"Hm, well, I'm glad things worked out," ChiChi said, stirring the soup.

"Yeah, so am I," Gohan said, though he couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if he hadn't been there.

Chiara really did have a terrible temper and she tended to forget that not everybody was as strong as she was. One of these days she would end up really hurting somebody, or worse.

Later that day, after dinner, Chiara found Gohan in his room rummaging through his closet, apparently looking for something. They each had a room of their own, and though they were small, the privacy was appreciated.

"What are you doing?" Chiara chirped.

"Looking for something suitable to wear," Gohan said, still half in the closet.

"For what?" Chiara frowned as she sat down on his bed.

"A date," the answer came.

"You're going on a date?" Chiara asked. "With whom?"

"Angela," Gohan said, holding up a white shirt in front of him.

"Angela? You mean the red-headed girl who's always attaching herself to you?" Chiara asked.

"Yeah," Gohan said absently.

"Why would you go on a date with her?" Chiara asked.

"Because she knows, Chi. She knows I'm the mysterious warrior," Gohan stressed.

Chiara was stunned into silence before she spoke up, trying desperately not to let her mouth form a smile. "She's blackmailing you? One of the greatest warriors of this day and age is being blackmailed by a human girl?"

Gohan scowled as he saw Chiara struggling not to laugh.

"Yes, okay? I'm getting blackmailed," Gohan cried. "Now, are you gonna help me find something to wear or are you just gonna sit there and gloat?"

Chiara allowed herself to chuckle as she got up and walked to Gohan's closet.

"Alright, alright, I'll help you," she said, searching through the closet. "What do you need to impress her for anyway? She's blackmailing you."

"Exactly, if she doesn't like what I'm wearing and get's mad," Gohan said, "she might tell my secret."

Chiara nodded slowly as she pulled out a white shirt, a dark tie and his only suit.

"You want me to wear that?" Gohan cried.

"Of course," Chiara said. "You're going on a date and this is appropriate for it."

"But it's yellow," Gohan protested.

"Oh, you noticed that, did you?" Chiara said amusedly. "I know it is, but it's the only suit you have."

Chiara handed the clothes to her twin and walked out the door, chuckling and muttering 'Blackmail' under her breath.

Gohan came home later that day, early in the evening, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Chiara was coming down the stairs after putting Goten to bed and she smiled as she saw him.

"Hey, how was your date?" Chiara asked.

"Even worse than I had expected," Gohan complained as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"How so?" Chiara asked as she joined him.

Gohan told her what had happened that day. He told her how the date with Angela had gone, how she had revealed that her secret had been about his teddy bear underwear -- Chiara decided to let that one go without comment -- and how she had stormed off angrily after finding Gohan talking to Videl.

"So she stormed off in a fit of jealousy," Chiara said, before guessing, "And now you feel bad."

"Yeah, I think I really hurt her feelings," Gohan said.

"Maybe, maybe not. You shouldn't feel bad about this," Chiara assured, patting his hand. "She's probably already found somebody else to sweet talk and sugar coat. And if she hasn't yet today, she will tomorrow."

"If you say so," Gohan said, not sure about that at all.

"I say so," Chiara said, before getting up and starting on the dishes.

"Where's mom?" Gohan asked.

"Upstairs, having a lie down," Chiara said, before her features darkened. "She's been crying again."

Gohan's face turned sad at this. "Poor mom."

"Yes, poor mom," Chiara said brusquely as she washed a plate. "And poor dad if I ever get my hands on him."

Gohan worriedly looked at his twin, knowing she meant every word. He'd feel sorry for dad too if she ever did get a hold of him. Not that that was likely to happen.

_775 A.D. April the 6th._

The very next day at school, Angela was talking to someone else, busily sweet talking him like Chiara had predicted.

"I hate to say I told you so," Chiara said softly as they looked on.

"Yeah," Gohan said, laughing a bit nervously. "And to think I felt bad."

Chiara patted Gohan's back before they entered their classroom.


	32. Chapter 32: Explosion of Temper

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: A twin squabble. A very rare one, I might add.

_Chapter XXXII: Explosion of Temper._

_775 A.D. April the 6th._

Chiara paused at the doorway to the Son residence, thinking of what she was going to happen when she entered. She irritably brushed some of her hair out of her face. It was coming out of its pins…again. She sighed and shook her head in exasperation as she reached up to fix it.

She took out the strong pins that held her hair together and put them back in properly. The pins she used were stronger than the average pin, but never seemed strong enough to hold down her spiky coal black hair.

She huffed in annoyance as she thought of what had happened at school, straightening her black jeans and white top to keep herself from getting angry all over again.

(_Flashback_)

Chiara impatiently waited for Gohan to join her outside the high school. He was late, he knew she hated it when he was late. She didn't usually mind waiting for him but she was in a bad mood anyway, and having to wait didn't help.

She was just about to search for his ki, when she saw him standing just beyond the school grounds. She growled softly as she saw who was talking to him. Chiara made her way to where the two of them were talking, all the while promising herself she would do horrible things to her brother for making her wait for him while he was already there.

Videl's back was to Chiara as she walked up, but Gohan saw her coming and his eyes widened as he saw the look on her face.

"Chi..." Gohan began but Chiara cut him off.

"Save it, Gohan," she said in a deceptively calm voice. "I'm sure I don't want to hear it."

She angrily pushed Videl aside, standing in front of Gohan, and got into his face, having to stand on her toes to even come close to his face.

"Why did I just spend ten minutes waiting for you while you were already outside?" Chiara asked, gesturing towards Videl while saying, "Talking to that no less."

"Hey," Videl cried.

Chiara ignored her. "Do you think I enjoy waiting for nothing?"

"Hey, how dare you talk about me like that?" Videl yelled, grabbing hold of Chiara's shoulder.

"Videl, no," Gohan cried. "Chi, don't."

But it was too late, Chiara swung around and punched Videl straight in the face, knocking her unconscious and sending her crashing into a tree.

"Chiara," Gohan yelled angrily. "What are you doing?"

Gohan ran to Videl, leaving Chiara standing there.

(_Flashback ends_)

The teachers that had witnessed it had immediately reported it to not only the principal and Videl's father but her mother as well. So now she was suspended from school for a week, lenient only because Videl had grabbed her first, her mother was going to chew her butt out and Gohan was on the warpath.

She didn't even want to think about what Piccolo and Vegeta would say when they heard. Piccolo would be angry at her for losing her self-control in such a blatant way, and although her Senpai wouldn't be angry at her for punching Videl, he _would_ be angry she hadn't been able to restrain herself better.

Of all the consequences of her action, Gohan being angry at her hurt the most. Her mother being angry was nothing new, Piccolo was usually placated by showing him her progress and her Senpai would get rid of his anger by stomping her into the ground during their next training.

Gohan, however…They were twins, unidentical but twins nonetheless. Their Saiyan heritage made them closer than human twins. They shared a mental link and being alive was apparently very painful without the other, Gohan had told her that after the Namek affair.

They were tuned into eachother's emotions and knew exactly what the other felt. And right now, Chiara felt that Gohan was angry, much angrier than she was about the whole thing. Chiara huffed. As if it was her fault anyway.

Videl had grabbed her, and you didn't grab someone unless you were ready to fight. Chiara smirked briefly, Videl obviously hadn't been ready. Chiara shook the thought off, took a deep breath and finally opened the door to her house.

"SON CHIARA," her mother's voice came from the kitchen, making Chiara cringe. "IS THAT YOU?"

"Yes, mom," Chiara said softly.

"Get yourself into this kitchen, young lady," her mother said.

Chiara slowly walked into the kitchen and sat down when her mother angrily gestured her to. ChiChi yelled at Chiara for almost a straight hour and Chiara made sure her mother knew she was listening. ChiChi grounded Chiara for a week, again lenient because she knew Videl had grabbed her and she understood her daughter's temper, and sent her up to her room.

Gohan didn't come home until a little later and told ChiChi that Videl would be okay, she had been given a senzu bean by Gohan, though not even Videl knew that, and she was now fine, which everyone believed since they didn't think a small girl like Chiara could do any real damage anyway.

The only ones who knew better were Gohan, Videl herself, and the people who had seen her injuries, though those people were quickly convinced that the injuries they had seen hadn't been there at all. Gohan, meanwhile, was furious at Chiara. He was torn between charging upstairs to confront her and ignoring her altogether.

_775 A.D. April the 7th._

Chiara scowled as she walked outside. It was hot outside. She had only just taken a shower and already she was covered in sweat. She hated it when the weather was like that. She had woken up sweaty, she had gone into the shower sweaty and now she was outside, sweaty again.

She had pulled on a pair of cut-off jeans shorts and a tank top, the thinnest she had, and had decided against socks or shoes, or any other article of clothing. Her scowl deepened as she walked further away from the house, it only seemed to be getting hotter.

"CHIARA," her mother's voice came from the house.

Chiara winced and decided teleporting back into the house would only make her mother angrier. She sedately walked back into the house and into the kitchen.

"Yes, mom?" she said softly.

"I grounded you, young lady, that means you are not to go outside," ChiChi said.

"I'm sorry, mom, but it was so warm," Chiara said.

"It isn't any better outside, so just stay in," ChiChi said.

Chiara nodded slowly and walked to the stairs to go upstairs. The door burst open and Gohan walked in.

"Hey mom, guess what?" Gohan enthused. "I..."

Gohan trailed off when he saw Chiara standing at the stairs. Chiara just barely stopped herself from flinching when she saw the anger in Gohan's eyes. She forced herself to scowl as she turned around and walked upstairs. She stopped herself from slamming the door behind her and sat herself down on her bed.

She sighed as she realized she still had to do her homework for the next day. She was grounded but that didn't excuse her from her school work. She really didn't feel like doing anything that day and not because it was hot outside. She just wanted her and Gohan to be okay again, but she didn't know how to make that happen. She had really messed up.

Gohan sat downstairs at the kitchen table, doing his homework, but he couldn't focus. He felt the sadness that his twin felt and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, it ate away at him. He finally cried out and got up. He stomped upstairs and charged into his sister's room.

Chiara shot up from where she was doing her homework and forced herself to stand her ground as Gohan stormed over to her. They stood face to face for a long while, Chiara craning her head all the way back. Gohan suddenly reached for her and Chiara closed her eyes, prepared to take the beating, when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to him.

She gladly wrapped her arms around him and tightly hugged him back. They stood there for the longest time, holding eachother. Finally, Gohan sighed and said, "I should have known better than to let you near eachother."

"I'm sorry, please forgive me," was all Chiara said, her voice muffled as her face was buried in his chest.

"I forgive you, but Chi, what you did…" Gohan said.

"I know, it won't ever happen again," Chiara promised. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Gohan nodded and allowed himself to smile. He could feel the sadness she had felt ebbing away and he was glad, he had thought he was going crazy. In all honesty, part of the sadness he had been feeling had been his own. He had hated being at odds with her and he was glad it was now settled.

_775 A.D. April the 8th._

Chiara watched in confusion as her brother flopped down onto his bed, his face pained and tormented.

"Bro, what happened?" Chiara asked.

"You're not gonna believe this," Gohan muttered. "But I'm sure you're gonna love it."

"Love what?" Chiara asked, her concern fading a bit. If Gohan thought she would love it, it couldn't be so bad.

Gohan took a deep breath and said, "Videl found out that I'm the Great Saiyaman and now she's black-mailing me. She says I have to enter the tournament that's coming up, _and _she wants to learn how to fly."

By the time Gohan was done talking, Chiara had her back turned to him and her shoulders were shaking. Gohan, knowing his sister far too well to think she was crying, scowled.

"Chi," he said indignantly.

Chiara turned around, trying very hard to keep a straight face.

"Is that what you're calling yourself?" she all but whispered, her mouth trembling. "The Great Saiyaman?"

"Yeah, why?" Gohan asked, still scowling.

"No reason," Chiara assured, before her face lit up, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "And did you say… blackmail?"

"Yes," Gohan ground out.

Chiara's ensuing laughter could be heard from about a mile away.

"Only Son Gohan..." she gasped, leaning on a scowling Gohan's shoulder, who was now sitting up on the bed. "...could possibly manage being blackmailed twice, by two different girls, all in one week."

Chiara burst into laughter again as Gohan scowled darkly at her.

"Oh, you're smooth, Gohan. You've got a way with girls," Chiara choked between fits of laughter.

Chiara yelped as Gohan suddenly sprang up and grabbed for her and she teleported out of sight.

"Aah. If I get my hands on her," Gohan yelled, making a motion with his hands that indicated wringing someone's neck.


	33. Chapter 33: Tears of a Saiyan Warrior

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys, it keeps me motivated.

_Chapter XXXIII: Tears of a Saiyan Warrior._

_775 A.D. April the 9th._

The very next day it was time for Gohan to teach Videl how to fly. Chiara, who had been told by her mother that she would no longer be grounded if she apologized to Videl, would be teaching Goten how to fly. Before the flying sessions began, Chiara approached Videl. Videl, now knowing that Chiara was much, much stronger than she looked, immediately tensed up, but Chiara wasn't there to fight.

She cleared her throat and started to speak, "Videl, I want to apologize for hitting you three days ago." Videl was stunned into silence, so Chiara continued, "What I did was out of line. You didn't ask to be punched, and I completely overreacted, so I'm sorry."

Gohan beamed proudly at his sister as they both waited for Videl's answer.

"Well," Videl stuttered. "Thank you, and apology accepted, I guess."

Chiara nodded curtly and walked to Goten to begin their lessons, leaving a happy Gohan and a still stunned Videl behind.

"So, I guess it's all better now that she's apologized," Gohan said.

Videl didn't know about that, but she nodded all the same. "I never would have guessed she knew how to apologize," she said.

"I told you, she's a great person, really," Gohan said, still smiling.

For Videl, learning how to fly wasn't easy. They had been at it for a few hours and she had only managed to levitate so far. Goten, however, was flying like he had known how all his life.

"So," Chiara said, a smug smile on her face as she approached. "Goten is flying like a pro, and little miss Satan is still struggling."

"Chi..." Gohan warned.

"This could mean one of two things," Chiara continued, ignoring Gohan. "Either Gohan is a lousy teacher, or Videl Satan is a lousy student." She grinned at Videl. "I'll leave you to guess which one I think it is."

Videl seethed as Chiara walked back to Goten, a smug smirk on her face.

"Well, she's back to being her usual self, I can tell that much," Videl snapped.

Gohan merely sighed, he just didn't understand girls. Not his own sister and certainly not girls like Videl. Later that day, after Videl had left and Goten had been taken home, Chiara and Gohan visited the Capsule Corporation. They were in the livingroom when Vegeta came in with Trunks.

"Brat, runt," he greeted Gohan and Chiara respectively. "Are you in?"

"In what?" Gohan asked, looking confused.

"I think he's referring to the 25th World Tournament that will be held not too long from now," Chiara said, before whispering to him, "You know, the one you _have_ to enter."

"Clever girl," Vegeta smirked as Gohan scowled at her. "Sometimes I wonder how you two are related."

"Hey," Gohan said while Chiara chuckled.

"Hey, Trunks," Chiara said, seeing the lavender-haired boy standing behind his father.

Trunks blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Hi, Chi," he said softly.

"Brat," Vegeta suddenly said. "What are you wearing?"

"Oh, this?" Gohan said proudly. "It's my outfit for when I go undercover. You know, so nobody recognizes me."

"If you think the outfit is a scream, wait until you find out what he's calling himself," Chiara chuckled. Gohan glared at Chiara but she ignored it. "Go on, Gohan, show him your pose."

Gohan, still convinced that he looked and sounded cool, complied and did his pose, loudly proclaiming his name. Vegeta stood in silence for a short while, his eyes wide. After a moment, he started chuckling.

Gohan glared at Vegeta. "There's nothing to laugh about. You're just jealous."

Vegeta shook his head, still laughing to himself, when suddenly a voice came from out of nowhere. Or rather, it came from the other world. It was Goku.

Gohan was overjoyed to hear his voice and was even more thrilled when he revealed that he would be entering the tournament after being granted one day on Earth. Chiara was silent but her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes were closed, two acts that spoke louder than words. When Goku's voice faded, Gohan turned to his twin sister with a smile on his face. His smile faded when he saw the look on her face.

"Chi?" Gohan questioned. "Are you okay?"

"The nerve," she whispered. "The endless gall of that man."

"Chi?" Gohan said again, getting worried.

Chiara's eyes shot open and she chuckled humourlessly.

"It never ends, does it? He leaves, he comes back. He leaves, he comes back. Like our lives have revolving doors in them that he can pass through whenever he sees fit," Chiara ranted, before turning to Gohan and looking him straight in the eyes. "Well, I'll tell you one thing. This time _my_ door's locked."

Chiara walked to the door just as mrs Briefs came in. "Hello, Chiara dear," she greeted sweetly before realizing she was leaving. "Oh, where are you going?"

"Home, mrs Briefs," Chiara said, trying to smile. "Thank you for your hospitality."

When Chiara was gone, silence ruled the room.

"I better go after her," Gohan finally said softly.

"Is she going to be okay?" Trunks asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Gohan sighed. "She just needs to blow off some steam."

Gohan walked to the door.

"Gohan," Vegeta called.

Gohan stopped and turned around to face Vegeta.

"Take care of her," Vegeta said, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

Gohan nodded mutely and left the building. He took off into the sky, following his twins distinct ki trail. He could feel her anger, but more than anything, he felt her sadness. He soon found her, standing on the edge of a cliff, her arms wrapped around her abdomen rather than crossed over her chest, her eyes open and filled with tears.

"Chi," Gohan called softly.

Chiara turned around and looked at Gohan for a while before falling into his open arms. He held her to him as she sobbed into his chest. All her grief and anger pouring out of her.

"It's okay, Chi," Gohan soothed. "Just let it all out."

Chiara tried to say something but her tears made her words incomprehensible so Gohan just shushed her and held her tighter. When she calmed down enough to wipe her tears away, they broke the hug. Chiara sniffed as she looked down.

"I'm sorry," she finally whispered.

"For what?" Gohan asked gently.

"For breaking down like that," Chiara said. "For not being able to think of dad the way you and mom do. Or the way Goten does, and he's never even met the man."

"You know dad loves us, don't you?" Gohan asked.

"Of course I know he loves us," Chiara said. "Why do you think this is so hard? If I thought for one second that he didn't, I wouldn't waste a thought on him. Not a single one. But I know he does, and I don't understand that. How could he love us and yet still stay away?"

"He's trying to keep us safe," Gohan pointed out softly.

"That's what he said, but I don't buy that," Chiara said. "No matter what he pretends sometimes, he's not stupid. He knows things don't work that way. People will try to hurt the Earth and its people no matter what. And we'd be safer if dad was here, but he's not."

Tears started streaming down Chiara's face again and she took a deep breath before she whispered, "I just don't want mom to cry anymore."

Her face crumpled again and Gohan once again held her as she cried tears of anger, tears of frustration, and most of all, tears of sadness.


	34. Chapter 34: Tournament Day

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Finally, Chiara sets eyes on Goku again. To freedom zero, you asked some questions in your review. I don't want to give too much away, but I think you can all see the Majin thing coming from a mile away and I can reveal that Chiara will be turning Super again, just not when. Your third question was she hates Goku. She hates him because she doesn't believe in his reason for staying away. No doubt Goku is a hero, and no doubt he loves his family, but she doesn't believe he did it to keep the Earth safe. In the seven years that have passed there have been numerous villains coming to Earth, in my story at least, and none of them were after Son Goku. That will be her main point, that his absence didn't stop evil guys from coming. Also note that she's had to listen to her mom crying every night, and that she resents her father for causing that.

To address silverfalcon's guess as to who Chiara's boyfriend is, again I don't want to give too much away, but I can tell you that there will be a hint in chapter 35 which will tell you all you need to know.

_Chapter XXXIV: Tournament Day._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

The day had come. The day of the 25th World Tournament. Bulma picked the Son family and Piccolo up at the Son house and they all entered her plane to head to the grounds where the tournament would be held. Chiara walked to the plane with her hands in her pockets, she had been in a foul mood all day but she figured it would serve her well during the tournament. She entered the plane and stopped next to where Yamcha was sitting. She turned her head towards him and frowned thoughtfully.

"Are you entering the tournament?" she asked.

"No, but I'll be watching," Yamcha answered.

"Pity," Chiara said, before smirking. "I would have enjoyed putting you in your place."

Yamcha scowled but said nothing as Chiara walked on. Vegeta, who was sitting on the passenger seat next to Bulma's seat, chuckled.

"Hello, Senpai," Chiara greeted, sitting down behind Vegeta's seat.

"Runt," Vegeta greeted. "Are you ready for the tournament?"

"Of course, nobody will beat me," Chiara said confidently.

"Nobody but me, runt," Vegeta smirked. "Nobody but me."

Chiara smiled her first real smile that month as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, leaning back to wait for everybody to enter the plane. Her foul mood returned full force when it took everybody a while to get on the plane. She hated stalling, and she just knew they were doing it on purpose.

She just barely managed to bite back a snappy remark, knowing that it wouldn't be appreciated, not by her mother, not by Piccolo, and not by her Senpai. Once everyone was settled, they were on their way. They were talking about how going Super Saiyan was not allowed and how they wouldn't use finishers. Krillin joked that he might actually stand a chance.

"Maybe I'll get to face you, huh Chi?" Krillin said to Chiara.

Despite the foul mood she was in, Chiara smiled. "It would be an honor to face you, Krillin."

Vegeta snorted. "You won't stand a chance against her, chrome dome."

"Vegeta," Bulma scolded angrily.

"Hey," Krillin protested. "I'm not even bald anymore."

Vegeta ignored them both. "It's Kakkarot that I want to face."

Chiara's foul mood seemed to increase ten fold when Vegeta mentioned her father. "Can't this thing go any faster? I could crawl faster than this."

"Son Chiara, you behave yourself," ChiChi warned.

Bulma sensed the tension building in the plane so she put on a smile and said, "I know, to pass the time we could sing songs."

"Yeah, or we could not," Chiara snapped.

Vegeta and Trunks both chuckled and Bulma sighed.

"Son Chiara, I am warning you," ChiChi said.

"I refuse to sing songs that nobody cares to hear, just to pass time that could just as easily be spent in silence," Chiara said, purposely being obnoxious, anything to keep them from talking about _him_ again.

"That's enough, Chiara," Piccolo warned.

"I'm sorry," Chiara said to Piccolo. "But I am entering the tournament, and I would like to concentrate on actually making it to the second round. I would also like to get there before the tournament's over."

"If you want silence so bad, just keep quiet," ChiChi said.

Chiara closed her eyes and drew her lips into a tight line at that, but she said nothing. The chatting went on, mostly about Goku, and Chiara's foul mood grew more foul every second. Gohan could feel the resentment through their link.

'_Just calm down, Chi,' _he sent to her.

'_I'm trying,' _Chiara sent back. '_But if they don't stop talking about him soon, I'm going to blow a gasket.'_

Gohan looked at Chiara worriedly but didn't know how to make everybody stop talking about their father. When Krillin once again said he had missed Goku, Chiara had had enough. She got up, grabbing everybody's attention.

"I'm sorry, I think I'll make my own way to the tournament grounds," she ground out.

She opened the door to the plane, ignoring her mother's protests, and stepped out into mid-air. She slammed the door behind her, a little harder than strictly necessary, and flew away. There was a short silence as everybody watched her go, before Krillin turned to Gohan.

"What happened there, Gohan?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, she's been in a foul mood ever since dad revealed he was going to be here today," Gohan said. "She still resents him for leaving us and not coming back, she's glad he's going to be here for mom's sake but that's where it ends."

"And we just kept on talking about him," Bulma said softly.

ChiChi was quiet as she thought about this, her countenance was sad. Piccolo looked thoughtful and Vegeta looked annoyed. He got up and walked to the door to the plane. He opened the door.

"I should have told you all to shut up about that clown," Vegeta said before stepping out, closing the door and flying off.

"Where is he going?" Goten asked.

"To find Chiara," Gohan said. "I would go myself, but I really wouldn't know what to say to her. I'm happy dad's going to be here, I'd only make her mad."

Once at the tournament grounds, the group caught up with Chiara and Vegeta again. Chiara looked much more relaxed and at ease than she had before. Nobody mentioned what had happened before and Chiara was glad, she wasn't proud of her little outburst but she couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't happen again.

As the z-gang waited for the registration desk to open for business, which it would momentarily, ChiChi fussed over Goten, stressing that he shouldn't run off. Chiara sighed and shook her head.

"What?" ChiChi demanded.

"Mom, Goten is stronger than 99.99 percent of Earth's population, if not more. I think he'll be fine," Chiara said.

ChiChi didn't look at all convinced of that but didn't fuss quite as much. It wasn't long until Baba showed up, stating that Goku wasn't far behind, and Chiara felt every muscle in her body tense. The muscles in her arms and legs actually hurt as she stood there watching her family get excited about the return of Son Goku. And then there he was, appearing out of nowhere beside Baba.

"Hey, everybody," he greeted, a goofy smile on his face.

"Goku," ChiChi cried joyfully.

"Wauw, you've all changed a lot in seven years," Goku commented.

"Dad," Gohan cried laughing.

"Goku," Krillin and the others called out as well, Krillin was crying.

"Gohan, look at you, you're a giant," Goku said.

Gohan just laughed as he looked at his father.

"Well, is everybody just going to stand there or am I gonna get a hug?" Goku asked.

Everybody, except for Trunks, Vegeta, Piccolo and Chiara, ran to Goku and hugged him or shook his hand. Baba left while they were occupied. That's when Goku noticed a tiny head peeking from behind ChiChi's legs.

"Hey, ChiChi, I think there's a little me standing behind you," Goku said jokingly.

"This is Goten," ChiChi said as she gently ushered Goten from behind her. "Say hello to your daddy."

"I'm Goten," Goten said shyly.

"I'm Goku," Goku said gently. "Hi."

Goten was reluctant for all of five seconds before he threw himself into a crouching Goku's arms, crying, "Daddy."

Chiara, in the mean time, stood behind Vegeta, her arms crossed, her eyes cold, her face hard.

"Heartwarming, isn't it?" she hissed so only Vegeta could hear.

"Behave yourself, runt, I know you hate the fool but this is important to your family," Vegeta said quietly.

"I know," she said through clenched teeth. "That's why I'm not over there pounding him into the ground."

"Chiara," ChiChi called out. "Come here and say hello to your father."

"Eh, mom, maybe it's better if you just leave her alone," Gohan said nervously.

"Nonsense," ChiChi insisted. "Chiara, come over here."

"Do as the woman says, runt," Vegeta said quietly.

"I can't," Chiara whispered. "If I go over there I'll hit him, I know I will."

Vegeta looked into Goku's direction before turning back to Chiara.

"Looks like it no longer matters, the clown's coming over here," Vegeta said softly.

Chiara squeezed her eyes shut, trying to find some semblance of control for her mother and brothers' sake before opening her dark eyes and finding herself face to chest with the man she so despised. She slowly looked up and locked eyes with him.

"Hey, sweetheart," Goku smiled. "How have you been?"

Chiara went to speak but something told her that if she did, she would add a long string of expletives and her mother would never let her hear the end of it.

"Son Chiara, talk to your father," ChiChi said. "You haven't seen him in seven years."

"And whose fault is that I wonder," Chiara said in a soft voice, glaring at her father.

"You know why I had to leave, Chi," Goku frowned. "I did it to keep you all safe."

Chiara's mouth opened but instead of an answer, or an insult, laughter came out of her mouth. But it wasn't joyful laughter, it wasn't inviting laughter, it was cold laughter, laced with sadness, perhaps even darkness. Vegeta and Piccolo studied Chiara carefully as her laughter faded.

"If I didn't know it would hurt my family, I would punch you right now," Chiara said, ignoring the shocked expressions on her mother and twin's faces. "As it is, I will wait until I encounter you in the tournament. If my Senpai doesn't beat you before then that is."

Chiara walked off, her fists clenched and her eyes cold. No one stopped her. Goku watched her go in amazement. He turned back to his friends and scratched his head.

"Her Senpai?" he questioned. "Who's her Senpai? Piccolo?"

Piccolo shook his head and Goku frowned.

"Then who?" Goku asked.

"It's me, fool," Vegeta snapped. "And you better pray you don't have to fight her."

Vegeta walked off in the same direction Chiara had gone in. Goku watched him go and then smiled.

"Well, I can see he did a good job training her, she's very strong," Goku said. "I hope I _do_ get to face her."

Gohan sighed at this, his father didn't understand just how much Chiara hated him for leaving and not coming back. The registration desk opened shortly after and they all registered. Much to Trunks' annoyance and Goten's distress they had to take part in the Junior Tournament.


	35. Chapter 35: The Tournament: Junior

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Thanks to Anne Becker I am able to upload this chapter, by tricking the system as she put it, lol. Thanks so much to her.

_Chapter XXXV: The Tournament: Junior Division. _

_775 A.D. May the 7th. _

The qualifying rounds of the tournament consisted of a punching machine. Those with the highest scores would advance. Each contestant's name was called and they would step forward to punch the machine. Hercule Satan was the first to use the machine and he got a score of 137, which he appeared to be very proud of.

The other normal competitors all got scores between 80 and 110. Android 18 merely tapped the machine and got 775. She then did it again and got a lower score. The other z-fighters got scores around 200 by using a lot of self-control. Then it was Chiara's turn.

"Remember, Chiara," Piccolo said. "Try to get a normal score."

She nodded and stepped forward towards the machine, trying to ignore the whistles and cat-calls of some of the macho fighters.

"Hey, baby," one of them called. "Do you need me to punch for you?"

Gohan growled and Goku scowled as some of the macho fighters laughed until Chiara hit the punching machine, with a little more strength than was really necessary and got a score of 410. She walked back, the cat-callers strangely silent, and stood next to Piccolo, who was looking down at her in disapproval.

"That's as normal as I get," she simply said.

Vegeta was up next, and having had enough of the whole thing, he wrecked the machine with a single punch. Everybody stared in awe as Vegeta walked back. Goku slapped his forehead and shook his head.

"You break, you buy, right?" Gohan quipped.

Chiara chuckled as she proudly watched her Senpai.

"I'm giving up," one of the warriors standing near them cried. "That guy would turn me inside out."

Videl probably heard none of this, she was staring in slackjawed awe.

"Nice, Vegeta," Gohan said, a small smile on his face.

Videl started at that, and she turned to Gohan with a frown.

"Wait, you're not in the least bit surprised?" she asked. "Didn't you see what he did to that machine?"

"Oh, I saw," Gohan said lamely, a nervous smile on his face. "Surprising."

"I don't understand it," Videl said. "It's like they're all in this group together, and they can all lift cars and buses. They're all scoring in the two hundreds and my dad only got a 137."

"Yeah, how weird," Gohan agreed, still smiling nervously.

"You know," Chiara cut in before Gohan could say anything else. "Maybe it's just not for you to understand."

Videl turned to Chiara as if noticing her for the first time. "You're one of them, aren't you? You got a score of 410, you have to be one of them." Videl turned to Gohan and said, "Does that mean you're one of them as well?"

"No, of course not," Gohan said quickly, holding up his hands. "And neither is Chiara. Her score was just a fluke."

Chiara raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Hmm," Videl said, not looking at all convinced but willing to let it go, for the moment.

At that moment the man in charge of the machine announced that they were experiencing some 'technical difficulties' but that they would be getting a new machine and they just had to stick around. Videl looked on as Goku, Vegeta, Android 18, Piccolo and Krillin came their way.

"Just look," Videl said with a scowl. "See how they walk. So tough."

"Hello there," Goku said, a friendly smile on his face. "So, you're the girl I keep hearing about."

Videl started at his friendly tone. She glanced at Gohan and saw that he was smiling. Then she glanced at Chiara and saw that she was scowling. What was that all about?

"Introduce her, will ya?" Goku said to Gohan.

"Yeah," Gohan said. "She's…she's my friend. Videl."

Chiara snorted. "Friend," she whispered.

Vegeta heard and smirked but still scolded her. "Behave yourself, runt."

Chiara nodded. "Yes, Senpai," she said softly, but couldn't resist adding. "But let's face it. She's not his friend. She's his girlfriend."

"Chi," Gohan protested. "You're embarassing me."

"Sorry, Gohan," Chiara said, smiling softly. "I didn't mean to." She then turned to the others. "Shall we go now? We don't want to be late for Trunks and Goten's matches."

"Yeah, let's go," Goku said. "It was nice meeting you, Videl."

"Good luck, Gohan," Krillin said.

"Bye," Gohan said.

The small group walked off, leaving Videl and Gohan behind.

"So, Chiara _is_ one of them," Videl said, before turning to Gohan. "And so are you."

Gohan looked a little sheepish at that. "Yeah, I'm sorry for lying, but we're supposed to keep a low profile. The man wearing the orange uniform, he's my dad."

"What?" Videl cried. "I thought your dad was with another woman."

"Oh no," Gohan said. "Just dead. Didn't you see the ring floating over his head?"

"Um, I think I need to lie down," Videl said, looking rather faint.

---

Before the Junior tournament got on the way, the announcer announced Hercule, the champion of the world. Everybody watched as the man came charging in, slipped in the middle of the platform and fell flat on his back. The crowd was ecstatic to see him and didn't even notice as he rolled around in pain.

The z-team had positioned themselves on a balcony to watch the junior tournament and they watched Hercule make an idiot of himself.

"He's even worse than he was seven years ago," Chiara commented.

"Yeah, really," Krillin concurred.

When the crowd stopped cheering, Hercule bounded up and announced that he wasn't hurt and he had been joking. The crowd bought it and they all started cheering again.

"You have a great sense of humour, Hercule," the announcer said.

"Thank you," Hercule said.

The organizers proceeded to air a very embarassing clip of how Hercule 'defeated' Cell. It was a completely made-up clip with people dressed like the z-fighters and even Hercule seemed embarassed by it. While most of the z-fighters were annoyed, Goku said that it was harmless and that they just had to consider it a joke.

"Yeah, but it's not a joke, is it?" Chiara snapped. "These people actually believe all of that."

"Maybe they do, but it doesn't matter," Goku said. "We know better."

Chiara merely huffed and turned away, annoyed with the clip and annoyed that her father didn't seem to be even remotely sorry that he'd been gone for so long. She ignored the urge to just forget everything and crawl into his arms, and scowled. How dare he? Her thoughts were interrupted when the Junior Division began its tournament.

"So," she said as Trunks and Idaasa headed for the middle of the tournament grounds. "We're in for a boring tournament."

"Yep," Krillin agreed.

"At least until Goten and Trunks face eachother," Piccolo spoke up, from where he stood watching.

"And that won't be long from now," Chiara added and they all chuckled.

As predicted, it didn't take Trunks long to beat Idaasa and before they knew it, it was time for Goten's first match.

"Where is Gohan?" Chiara asked, frowning. "I know it's not exciting but it is Goten's first match. I would have thought he'd want to see it."

"He's still in line for the punching machine," Goku said. "They're still trying to fix it."

Chiara looked at Vegeta, who looked anything but sorry for breaking the punching machine, in fact, he looked downright smug.

"Well, they better hurry," Chiara said. "Gohan won't want to miss Trunks and Goten's match."

Again as predicted, Goten beat Ikoose easily and after a few more matches, it was time for Trunks vs. Goten. Gohan just barely managed to make it in time.

"What did I miss?" he said as he and Videl arrived.

"Everything and nothing," Chiara said and then explained when he looked confused, "Everything in that all the matches but one have been fought, and nothing in that…nothing happened. It was boring. Trunks and Goten just steamrolled their way through the tournament."

"Like we all knew they would," Krillin commented.

Chiara nodded, her eyes scanning the crowd at their own accord. He still wasn't there. He had promised that he would be. She frowned. If only she could sense him, then she could go and find him.

"Chi?"

Chiara started and turned to Krillin. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Krillin asked. "You looked like you were looking for somebody."

"Looking for somebody?" Chiara repeated, trying to look indifferent. "I wasn't, I was just looking around."

"Don't try to fool us, Chi," Gohan said, a teasing smile on his face. "You're looking for your boyfriend."

Everyone, except Vegeta and Gohan, looked surprised.

"Boyfriend?" Krillin asked.

"Yes, I have a boyfriend," Chiara all but snapped, her cheeks bright red. "Is that so unbelievable?"

"Runt," was all Vegeta said, but Chiara understood the warning.

"I'm sorry, Krillin," Chiara said sincerely. "I just don't see why it's so surprising."

Krillin accepted her apology with a friendly nod, before saying, "It's not surprising, you're a pretty girl."

Chiara blushed again, and the smile on her face was genuine, but Gohan couldn't help but feel worried.

_'I just had to open my big mouth, what if she's mad at me?' _he thought.

_'Don't be silly, Gohan,' _Chiara thought back. _'Turnabout is fair play, I teased you about Videl.' _

Relief washed over Gohan and he smiled at his sister before they turned to the platform where the match between Goten and Trunks was set to begin.

---

Seizing the opportunity to study his children while they weren't looking, Goku first turned his attention to his eldest son. Son Gohan. He really had turned into an impressive man, all muscle and power. Yet, he had a gentle heart, the way he treated his 'friend' Videl was proof of that.

Goku wondered how Gohan was doing in school and what he wanted to become when he finished, but he knew this wasn't the place to ask. He probably wouldn't be given the chance to ask at all. It was because of these things that he lamented having been gone for seven years, but he knew in his heart that he had done the right thing by staying away. Or did he?

At this, his attention turned to his only daughter. Son Chiara. She wasn't like most girls. She wasn't a sparkling young chit of a girl, with blonde hair and big blue eyes. Brooding and dark. Wild, coal black hair and onyx eyes. That was Son Chiara. She was beautiful.

Perhaps he was biased. He was her father after all. She was also very strong, he didn't need to be biased to feel that, and he mentally thanked Vegeta for doing what he could not during those seven years.

_'He obviously trained her well,' _he thought.

A scowl came to Goku's face when Vegeta warned his daughter off, simply by calling her 'runt'. He felt anger well up in his chest. He wanted to yell that that was his daughter he was talking to, that she had a name and he should use it, that he had no right to try and take Goku's place.

Goku's scowl turned into a frown at that. Now where had that come from? He wasn't…jealous, was he? Of course not, why should he be? Vegeta wouldn't try something like that. His thoughts were taken away from his twins and to the platform where his youngest stood as the last match of the junior tournament began. His heart swelled with love and pride for the young boy fighting Trunks, but somewhere inside, a gnawing feeling remained, a feeling that wouldn't be addressed until some time later.

---

The match between Trunks and Goten began and the z-fighters loved it. It was the first really exciting match of that day. Goku was obviously proud of his little boy, and, although he didn't show it, Vegeta was proud of his son.

In the end, Trunks beat Goten through cheating, though Goten cheated during the match as well. Goten was upset at first, but after being offered three of Trunks' toys, he was happy again. When they came to congratulate Trunks on his victory, Goten happily chattered to Gohan and Chiara about what toys he was going to choose.

As was a custom at the tournament, the winner of the Junior Tournament was then allowed to take on the World Champion. Trunks easily punched Mr. Satan's lights out, but, inevitably, the crowd believed Satan let Trunks win.


	36. Chapter 36: The Tournament: Adult

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Mighty Mask Alert, lol.

Note: To Crystal: Dende, huh? Interesting guess. I hope you continue to read to find out.

_Chapter XXXVI: The Tournament: Adult Division._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

After the preliminary rounds were finished, the number of warriors had gone down from sixty-four to sixteen. They each drew a number and the matches were set. Krillin drew number 1 and was set to face number 2, which was Punta. Shin drew number 3 and would face Piccolo, who drew number 4. Android 18 was number 5 and would face Mighty Mask, who drew number 6.

Number 7 was Gohan and, much to the z-team's delight, Chiara drew number 8. A very creepy man called Spopovitch drew number 9 and Videl drew number 10. Chiara actually felt sorry for her. When she said so, Vegeta commented she should focus on her own match, not somebody elses.

"I _am_ focused on my match," Chiara said. "How could I not be? I know how strong Gohan is. But if I lose to Gohan, that's the end of it. If you lose to someone like Spopovitch, you just don't know what's going to happen. He might decide beating you isn't enough."

Vegeta nodded slowly, though he wasn't worried about any such thing. To him Spopovitch was just another weakling. Goku drew number 11 and Vegeta drew number 12. Kibito was number 13, Killa was number 14, Yamu became number 15 and Jewel ended up as number 16.

Once the first official round's matches were known, the first fighters began to prepare while the others went to the balcony to watch. The first match was Krillin vs. Punta. Krillin beat Punta with ease, a punch to the gut, a few slaps and a kick and Punta was out of there. Piccolo would have faced Shin next, but for some strange reason, Piccolo claimed he was forfeiting the match because he 'couldn't do it'. The other fighters asked Piccolo why he had done that but he wouldn't say.

After that it was to be Android 18 vs. Mighty Mask. Chiara was bored with the way things had gone until then, the matches were dull and she didn't think 18 vs. Mighty Mask would be any different, so she decided to go for a walk.

While walking she ran into 'Mighty Mask' before his match. Chiara looked at the 'being' standing before her and she unexpectedly felt the better part of her foul mood dissolve. She burst into laughter as she saw 'him'.

"What?" Trunks barked in a deep voice, or at least as deep as an eight year old boy could manage.

"Oh boys, you don't really think anybody is going to fall for this, do you?" Chiara asked, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes.

"What?" Goten said, from where he stood below Trunks. "How did you know, Chi?"

"I looked and I saw, little man," Chiara said laughing.

"Well, you're not going to tell, are you?" Trunks asked.

"Of course not, what do you take me for?" Chiara asked. "A spoilsport?"

Chiara walked away, chuckling quietly and muttering 'Mighty Mask'. 'Mighty Mask' headed for the arena. While Trunks and Goten headed onto the platform along with Android 18, Chiara had rejoined her family and friends.

"This is going to be great," Chiara grinned.

"What do you mean, Chi?" Krillin asked. "This is going to be boring."

"Yeah," Goku said. "Poor guy doesn't stand a chance."

"First of all it's 'poor guys', not 'poor guy'," Chiara snapped at her father before she turned to Krillin and said, "And second I don't think this is going to be as easy as 18 might think."

The z-team stared at Chiara as if she'd grown another head, even Vegeta looked puzzled.

"Oh, come on," Chiara said. "You don't notice anything different about 'Mighty Mask'?"

"No," Gohan said, looking at the competitors on the platform. "Should we?"

"Nothing different? Something familiar perhaps?" Chiara asked.

All the z-team members shook their heads.

"I don't believe this, you don't see it," Chiara said in disbelief. "It's right there. It was the first thing I noticed."

"Noticed what, Chi?" Gohan asked.

Chiara frowned and sent '_Mighty Mask is Trunks and Goten,'_ through their mental link.

"What?" Gohan all but yelled. "Mighty Mask is..."

Chiara clasped her hand over his mouth and scowled at him. "Be quiet," she hissed. "Do you want them to be disqualified?"

Chiara removed her hand from Gohan's mouth and he stared at Trunks and Goten in the Mighty Mask garb.

"What?" Vegeta demanded. "What's going on?"

Gohan turned to the others and said, "Mighty Mask is Trunks and Goten."

The z-team started at that and they all leaned over the railing to get a closer look at the match which was by now in progress.

"Dende," Goku cried. "It _is_ them."

Chiara nodded curtly, though she smiled at the boys' antics. Trunks and Goten were discovered when they powered up and 18 became suspicious. She revealed them and they were disqualified. 18 was very angry and she yelled at them for cheating. After the match, 18 returned to where the other fighters were standing.

"Little brats," she spat. "Thought they could fool me."

"They fooled you long enough for you to fight them," Chiara pointed out.

"No they didn't," Android 18 snapped. "I knew it was them from the start."

Chiara chuckled and shook her head. "I understand you weren't too happy about it but you didn't have to scold them. I think being disqualified was extreme enough for them to have learned their lesson."

"They shouldn't have cheated and lied their way in while the rest of us have to work hard to make it," 18 insisted.

"They just wanted to be a part of the adult division, they hardly disadvantaged you in any way," Chiara retorted, feeling very defensive of the two young Saiyans. "And what do you mean 'the rest of us had to work hard to make it'? All we had to do was punch a machine, and then beat a few weak fighters, they could have done that."

18 opened her mouth to respond to that when the announcer interrupted her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, have we got a treat for you. Prepare yourselves for some good old fashioned sibling rivalry because the Son twins are up next," the announcer bellowed.

Chiara turned away from 18 and she and Gohan beamed at eachother as everyone cheered.

"Hey," Goku said. "Good luck you two."

"Thanks, dad," Gohan said. Chiara said nothing.

"Will Son Chiara and Son Gohan make their way to the arena, please," the announcer said.

Chiara and Gohan walked from the balcony, followed by cheers and good luck wishes from their friends. As Chiara and Gohan walked into the arena and onto the platform, the cheers of the crowd grew louder. Bulma, ChiChi and the others were the loudest of all.

"Just do your best, you two," Bulma called.

"And be careful," ChiChi added, making the twins smile even wider and roll their eyes.

While everyone continued to cheer, the twins conversed through their mental link as they stretched.

'_So, this is it, huh sis?'_ Gohan sent. '_Our first real match today.'_

'_Yep, any rules?'_ Chiara asked.

'_Well, no Super Saiyan obviously. And no low blows,'_ Gohan said.

'_Well…'_ Chiara said, drawing the word out.

'_Chi,'_ Gohan whined.

Chiara chuckled. '_Alright, no low blows,'_ Chiara said.

"Okay," the announcer shouted. "Fighters, get ready."

Gohan and Chiara got into their fighting stances.

"Let the match begin," the announcer shouted and the demi-Saiyans flew at eachother.


	37. Chapter 37: The Tournament: Chiara vs

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Some violence.

Note: Okay, we've already established that I'm no good at writing fighting scenes. This chapter kind of proves that. It's also very short, forgive me. I hope you all enjoy anyway.

_Chapter XXXVII: The Tournament: Chiara vs. Gohan._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

Before the match began, Gohan had known that his sister had trained practically every day for seven years, what he hadn't known was that she was now stronger than he was. He found himself hard-pressed to defend himself against her on-slaught and he cursed himself for not training more often, instead focusing on his homework.

'_After this tournament, I'm gonna start training again,' _Gohan thought wildly as he blocked a punch from his sister, only to catch another one on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Chiara was pacing herself. She knew she was only stronger because of her constant training, she also knew that her brother was still extremely strong, and she would have to be wary of tiring herself out. If she got too tired, too soon, she'd be done for.

The exchange of punches went on, each trying to get the better of the other, until Gohan finally caught Chiara on the side of the head and she went flying backwards. She got back into fighting position but Gohan wasn't in front of her. Without seeing any kind of attack fly at her, and without even knowing where Gohan was, Chiara jumped aside, and just barely avoided being kicked in the back by Gohan.

The other members of the z-gang were watching the match, their eyes fixed on the two black-haired forms.

"Unbelievable," Krillin enthused. "My heart's in my throat already. This is awesome."

Goku only nodded, not taking his eyes off his children, while Vegeta didn't respond at all, watched the fight intently. Goku and Piccolo winced as Chiara went flying into the ground, destroying the tournament ground.

"Oh man, that's gotta hurt," Krillin said sympathetically.

'_Come on, runt, you can do better than this,' _Vegeta thought tensely.

Videl was watching the match as well, her eyes wide, her mouth dropped open and her hands clutching the railing of the balcony.

'_This… can't be happening," _Videl thought. '_I knew they were strong, but this… no way.'_

"Come on, Chi," Goku yelled at Chiara, who had extracted herself from the hole in the ground. "Let's go."

Chiara forced herself to ignore him as she flew at Gohan again, this time not giving him the chance to defend himself. She knew she was risking wearing herself out, but she had to stay on him. As the twins continued to battle, ChiChi, Bulma, Yamcha and the others watched from the audience.

"Oh no," ChiChi wailed. "They're hurting eachother. I told them to be careful, and now look."

"It can't be helped, ChiChi," Bulma said. "It's a fight. Of course they're going to hurt eachother."

ChiChi barely heard Bulma, all she saw was her babies beating eachother up.

The match went on for a long while after, becoming the longest match ever in the World Tournament. Both were tremendous fighters, but in the end only one could win. The match ended when they each threw a huge blast at eachother and the blasts met in the middle.

They both pushed with all their might, trying to get their own blast to their opponent, and the blast in the middle started to grow. The energy of the blast pushed everything and everyone aside, the announcer was thrown off his feet, the people in the audience had to clutch their seats to stay in them and even the other fighters had to try real hard to stay upright. The z-team members exclaimed in alarm.

"They're gonna blow the arena up if they keep this up," Piccolo shouted as he struggled to stand.

"Goku," Krillin shouted. "They need to stop this."

Vegeta was holding tight to the railing, still intently watching the match between the two Saiyans.

Goku turned to the railing and shouted, "Gohan, Chiara, stop this. You're going to destroy this place."

But neither Son heard him. They were both intent on what they were doing. The ball continued to grow until finally it exploded. Everyone in the arena was blinded by the light of the explosion as the match finally came to an end.

Thick smoke obscured all vision, making it impossible to tell where the contestants were. The audience members were slowly getting back to their feet, uprighting chairs, and checking on eachother. After making sure that everybody was alright, the announcer, shaking on his legs, turned to the platform that was no longer a platform.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we just witnessed the most amazing match," the announcer said. "But we have no idea who won."

It took a long moment for the smoke to clear but when it finally did, the winner became known. There they were, Gohan was lying on his back, just barely next to the ring. Chiara was lying on her side, just barely still in the ring.

"We have a winner. Son Chiara has won the match," the announcer cried. As he realized neither warrior was moving, he meekly said, "Now can we get some medical assistance out here, please."

But Goku and Vegeta were already on their way.

"You get your son," Vegeta ordered as they approached the ring. "I'll get the girl."

Goku curbed the urge to remind Vegeta that Chiara was _his_ daughter, and before he could speak Vegeta had shot off towards Chiara anyway, but he told himself that he would talk to Vegeta about it later. He went and got Gohan, while Vegeta carried Chiara.

Goku quickly dropped by Korin's place and two senzubeans later, the twins were fine. Chiara was elated to find that she had beaten her brother, but neither Gohan nor Chiara were elated when they were scolded for taking it as far as they did, nearly hurting somebody, and nearly killing themselves.


	38. Chapter 38: A Protective Sister

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Some minor violence.

_Chapter XXXVIII: A Protective Sister._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

The next match on the card was Videl vs. the creepy Spopovitch. Everybody was tense as they watched the match take place. There was something not right about this man and though they didn't know what it was, they were keeping their eyes open.

Spopovitch appeared to be no match for Videl's fighting skills, and Chiara found herself grudgingly admitting that Videl really was very good, but although he didn't appear to be a good fighter, he did keep getting up, even when he should have been killed.

When Videl broke his neck, everyone thought it was over, and although Videl had been disqualified for excessive violence, everybody was relieved. But then the impossible happened. Spopovitch got up and rearranged his neck. The z-team members all gasped in disbelief.

"No way," Gohan cried.

"Impossible," Chiara whispered. "Gohan, you have to tell Videl to get out of there."

Gohan nodded and went to yell for Videl to flee but it was too late. Spopovitch had set his sights on the young girl and mercilessly pounded her into the ground. Gohan had seen enough and he rushed forward to help Videl. He faced Spopovitch, powering up significantly.

Shin apparently got an idea, and he trapped Gohan with a spell, to allow Yamu and Spopovitch to absorb Gohan's energy. Yamu and Spopovitch escaped with the energy leaving a weakened Gohan and an all but dead Videl behind. When Shin tried to explain that they needed to do that to be able to track Yamu and Spopovitch, Chiara didn't bother to listen and she punched him straight in the face.

"Chiara, what do you think you're doing?" Piccolo yelled as Kibito got into a fighting stance.

Chiara ignored them all and went straight for her brother. Shin stopped Kibito from attacking her.

"Don't, Kibito," Shin said, grabbing his arm.

"But she attacked you, master," Kibito protested.

"She was only protecting her brother," Shin said.

Shin approached Chiara, who glared at him as she sat on her knees next to her brother.

"I understand why you attacked me, I forgive you," Shin said.

Chiara's eyes were blazing as she jumped to her feet. "Don't you patronize me, I don't want your forgiveness, I haven't asked for your forgiveness. Just stay away from my brother."

"Chiara, that's enough," Piccolo barked. "You're out of line."

"Why?" Chiara challenged. "Because he's some kind of god?"

"He is the Supreme Kai," Piccolo said.

The other z-team members gasped as they heard that, but Chiara was unfazed.

"I don't care if he's the creator of the Universe. He was playing with my brother's life just now and I don't like it," she all but yelled.

Suddenly, Vegeta had had enough. He didn't care how many times Chiara hit the Supreme Kai but he could see Chiara getting out of control and he wouldn't stand for it.

"That's enough," Vegeta suddenly barked. "Leave, runt, and don't come back until you've calmed down."

"Not until I know Gohan's okay," Chiara said defiantly.

"The brat will be fine, now go, before I lose my patience," Vegeta said.

Chiara bowed her head in deferrence to her Senpai and grudgingly left, shooting Shin one last glare before taking off.

While Chiara was gone, Shin explained to the z-team that Yamu and Spopovitch worked for a wizard named Babidi. Babidi was trying to awaken the creation of his father, Bibidi, called Buu. The evil wizard would use the energy Yamu and Spopovitch collected to awaken Buu but they could use Gohan's energy to track them to the ship where Buu would be kept. That being said, they all headed for Babidi's ship.

The tournament went on in the mean time. At the ship they witnessed a small, ugly fellow killing Yamu and Spopovitch, despite their success. They were discovered by a warrior called Dabura, who turned Piccolo and Krillin to stone, leaving Shin, Goku, Gohan and Vegeta.

They headed into Babidi's ship, following after Dabura, and they were forced to face a fighter on each level of the ship. Vegeta fought Pui Pui. Despite Babidi's attempts to throw Vegeta off by increasing the gravity, Vegeta easily beat Pui Pui.

Goku was up next and he was to face Yakon, a green alien that appeared to be some kind of lizard. They fought in a room that was soon turned pitch black. Goku used his ki to light up the room, and soon found that Yakon could absorb energy. Goku, however, simply powered up all the way and Yakon absorbed so much energy that he exploded.

When it was Gohan's turn, Dabura himself came out. Gohan didn't mind, there was no reason to believe he wouldn't be able to defeat him. In fact, he was confident that he would.

The fight began with Dabura beating Gohan until Gohan turned Super Saiyan. Dabura was in awe and soon after, he was in pain as well. But Dabura was no push over and after powering up himself, the advantage was his once more.

Dabura spat at Gohan but only hit his glove, which Gohan quickly took off just as it turned to stone. Dabura then spat again and it would have hit Gohan head on this time if it hadn't been for a sudden beam that incinerated the spit.

Dabura frowned and glared at Vegeta, Goku and Shin, but he could see they hadn't done it. All three of them were looking at something to their left and when he looked in that direction as well, he was stunned to find himself looking at him at a rather small, rather angry looking young woman.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you it's bad manners to spit at people?" that same woman sneered.

"Chi," Gohan cried. "How did you get here?"

"The same way you did," Chiara said. "I stayed back while you fought. When you were wizarded away, I went with you. I got into the ship a bit faster than you did, though, if the corpses in your wake were any indication."

Vegeta smirked at that and Goku frowned.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Chi," Goku said, scoldingly.

Dabura watched with great interest as the young woman they called 'Chi' scowled angrily at Goku. He listened and watched carefully as she proceeded to tell Goku in no uncertain terms that she wasn't interested in what he thought and that he could keep his opinions to himself.

'_So much anger, so much hatred,' _Dabura thought to himself. '_We can use that.'_

The z-team members were stunned to suddenly find themselves in the ship again.

"What? Why are we back here?" Vegeta demanded.

"I don't know," Goku said. "I guess they wanted us back on the ship for some reason."

"But why?" Supreme Kai asked puzzled.

Dabura, in the mean time, was making his way to the door leading out of the ship.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Gohan cried. "Are you giving up or what?"

"Oh no," Dabura grinned. "It's just a short intermission. We just need a minute to rethink our strategy. It appears we've found a new recruit. The ultimate warrior capable of handling all of you. So just take a little rest while we bring this new fighter up to speed."

Dabura chuckled as the door closed behind him, leaving the five confused fighters behind.

Dabura returned to Babidi and informed him of his discovery.

"I learned that one of the mortals has a terrible rage burning in their heart. The girl to be precise. I don't know where the rage comes from or who it's directed against, but it is a deep-seated anger that has been allowed to fester for years. She could be made to serve our purposes."

"You're kidding me, now I know what you're thinking," Babidi exclaimed joyfully. "We can revive Buu and defeat them without even lifting a finger. Brilliant, Dabura."

"I'm here to please you, my master," Dabura said reverently.

"You are priceless," Babidi praised, before cackling in glee. "Here comes the Buu, here comes the Buu."


	39. Chapter 39: Majin Chiara

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Evil Chiara, lol.

Note: As you may have guessed by reading the last bit of my previous chapter and reading the title of this one, it's Chiara, not Vegeta who get's controlled by Babidi. I want to explain this _before_ you read the chapter, because if I explain it after, you may get annoyed with the whole thing and not read it at all.

There are a number of reasons for my decision to make it Chiara instead of Vegeta. First of all, the whole Majin Vegeta thing has always bothered me. It just never seemed to fit. Vegeta was once evil and he was evil for a long time and I understand that because of this his heart could never be pure. He'll never be a goody two shoes, or even a nice guy. But I do believe he has changed.

I could accept the whole Android saga thing, where he nearly let his wife and child die. He just didn't care enough yet. In my opinion, that changed in the years that followed. By the time the Buu saga rolled around, he cared enough to die for them, even if he would never tell them that.

For him to let Babidi control him like that, just so he could fight Goku without giving an ounce of consideration to what his wife and son might think or feel, or what his actions might mean for them, just doesn't sit well with me.

_Chapter XXXIX: Majin Chiara._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

After Dabura left, the z-fighters were left in confusion. Why did Dabura leave? Was he scared, or were they in for another unwelcome surprise? Vegeta scoffed and sneered that Dabura had been scared because he realized he was outclassed.

"Why Senpai, I didn't realize you thought so highly of me," Chiara said, knowing what his answer to that would be. He didn't disappoint.

"Don't flatter yourself, runt," Vegeta said, a slight smirk on his face. "I was talking about me."

Chiara smiled at that and nodded, that's what she thought. Goku frowned when he saw the exchange. It wasn't that he was jealous, it was that he didn't like that Vegeta was taking his place. He wasn't supposed to. It wasn't his place to.

Chiara, unaware of her father's thoughts, sighed as she glanced at the door Dabura disappeared through. Something was going on, and she didn't like it. Whatever it was, was very likely bad for them, and since they didn't know what it was, they had no way to prepare.

"He said something about a new fighter," Gohan pointed out. "But I don't get that. I thought Dabura was supposed to be Babidi's strongest servant."

Chiara sighed again and went to say something when a sharp pain in her head interrupted her and she went down on her knees. Goku cried out and Gohan rushed to her side as she yelled when the pain worsened. Shin, suddenly realizing what was happened, appeared at Chiara's side.

"Chiara, Babidi is trying to take over your mind, you must fight him," Shin urged.

"Trying to take over her mind?" Goku cried.

"Where is that little rat?" Vegeta snarled.

"There's nothing we can do," Shin said. "It's up to Chiara."

Chiara, in the mean time, was trying hard to fight the magic that now surged through her veins but it was strong, too strong. She cried out again and a blast of energy burst forth from her, throwing the other fighters off their feet and away from her. Chiara keeled over and sprawled onto the floor.

Gohan went to rush to her side once more only to be stopped by Shin.

"What are you doing?" he angrily demanded of Shin. "I have to help my sister."

"You can't help her now, Gohan," Shin said. "It's too late."

Chiara slowly, and with difficulty, got to her feet. When she looked up, there was a large M on her forehead. Gohan and Goku cried out in distress as Vegeta grit his teeth, all three of them backing away from Chiara slightly, knowing they were no longer dealing with the same person.

Before they could ponder the change in Chiara, Babidi spoke up, mocking them for the way they were now about to be beaten, by one of their very own. Chiara still stood where she had gotten up, just staring at them, seemingly not even recognizing them.

"No," Goku said. "We won't fight her. She _is_ one of our own. She's not our enemy."

"Show yourself," Gohan added, clenching his fists in fury. "Be a man, and fight us yourself."

"Oh no, I'll leave the fighting to my newest ally," Babidi cackled as he teleported them to the World Tournament grounds, where Hercule was celebrating his 'win' against Android 18.

Everyone was very surprised to suddenly see them appear.

"Oh, now Goku shows up," ChiChi said sarcastically.

"What are they doing here?" Bulma asked as she watched them. "What's going on?"

"This isn't going to work, Babidi," Shin cried. "We're not fighting her."

"Oh, you're not, are you?" Babidi asked. "We'll see."

Majin Chiara suddenly raised her arm and blew up a large portion of the stadium, killing many people. Goku cried out in rage, ChiChi fainted, Bulma came close and all the others gasped in shock.

"How could you do that?" Gohan cried, glaring at Chiara in bewilderment.

"There's no point, Gohan," Shin said. "It's not really Chiara anymore. She doesn't even recognize you now."

Gohan, not wanting to believe that his twin sister was gone, reached out to her through their mental link, and found nothing. She was still there, he could still feel her, but there was no response, no recognition. Shin was right, it wasn't really Chiara anymore.

Goku, who was still enraged by what had happened, also realized that it wasn't Chiara they were now facing, it was Babidi, and they would win, they had to.

"The Chiara I know would never do something like this," Goku said. "I'll fight, and I'll win."

"While sacrificing your daughter?" Babidi gleefully cried out.

"No, Babidi, while sacrificing you," Goku said.

"You can't do this, Goku. This is just Babidi's way to get energy to awaken Buu," Shin said.

"I'm doing what needs to be done," Goku said to Shin, before turning his attention back to Babidi. "All I ask is that you take us somewhere where we won't hurt anyone else."

Babidi agreed, thinking it would make no difference. Once Buu was awakened, they would all go down anyway. He took them somewhere remote and empty, where they could fight without destroying anything. Goku got into a fighting position, he didn't want to fight his daughter but, he reminded himself, he wasn't really. He was fighting Babidi.

The Majin form of Chiara never showed any emotion as she launched herself towards Goku and the fight began. Goku found himself hard-pressed to defend himself, she really was very strong, but after once again reminding himself that it needed to be done, he powered up and defended himself against the Majin's onslaught.

The fight had been going on for a short time when Majin Chiara suddenly faltered, the M on her forehead disappearing momentarily before reappearing again. Goku didn't miss it and he knew that Babidi's hold on Chiara was failing.

"Chi," Goku cried. "If you can hear me, fight him. This isn't you, you have to fight."

Majin Chiara seemed to hesitate before she launched herself at Goku again. While fighting, Goku kept talking.

"You're stronger than this, Chiara," Goku said. "You're better than this. Think of your mother, think of Goten, of Gohan."

At the mention of Gohan's name, Majin Chiara stopped fighting altogether and Goku's fist, which he had thrown her way to defend against her next punch, smashed into the side of her face. The young woman went down, crashed into the ground, and stayed down. Goku landed next to Chiara, cautiously but anxiously approaching her.

"Chi," he called as he turned her around.

Much to Goku's relief, the M on Chiara's forehead was now gone, and besides a few bruises and scratches, Chiara was okay. Goku's attention was diverted from Chiara when three familiar powerlevels came closer. Gohan, Vegeta and Shin had arrived.

"Chi," Gohan cried as he raced to her side. He kneeled next to her and touched her face, before angrily turning to Goku. "What did you do to her?"

Goku went to respond but he didn't need to. Gohan's face had fallen as he realized he was being crazy and he was quick to apologize to his father. Goku gave Gohan a pat on the shoulder in acceptance before they both turned their attention back to the young girl on the ground.

"We need to get her a senzu bean," Gohan said.

"I still have one left," Goku said, digging it out of the pouch on his belt.

"Perhaps you should split it," Shin suggested. "You look like you could do with some healing yourself."

Goku went to say something when suddenly the bean was pulled from his hand. He turned and watched as Vegeta pulverized the bean in his fist and placed the powder in Chiara's mouth, pressing his index finger and thumb down on her throat to make her swallow.

"Hey," Goku cried. "That's not how you're supposed to do that."

Vegeta ignored him, focusing instead on Chiara's face as the bean did its work. Chiara's injuries disappeared and her eyes slowly opened. Vegeta nodded curtly and stepped away from her, once again turning his back to them all.

"Chi?" Gohan said softly as he helped her sit up.

Chiara blinked as she looked around, trying to make sense of what had happened and what was now going on. She drew a complete blank when she tried to recall.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice quiet and unsure.

Gohan, not at all used to hearing his sister like that, was dumbstruck.

"Babidi took over your mind," Shin said as gently as he could. "But you're okay now."

Chiara slowly nodded, not really convinced that she was okay. Gohan gently helped her to her feet, and Goku smiled as he watched Gohan fuss over his twin. Suddenly a very large powerlevel appeared out of nowhere. It was some distance away but they knew where it was, Babidi's spaceship.

"Oh no," Shin cried. "What I feared has happened, Babidi has awoken Buu. Your fight allowed him to gather enough energy."

Gohan and Goku gasped in consternation but Chiara was confused.

"Whose fight?" she asked.

"Your fight with Goku," Shin said. "We have to get to Babidi's ship and stop Buu before he hurts anyone."

"Right," Goku said, a determined look on his face. "Let's go."

"No," a harsh voice cut in.

They all turned around and looked at Vegeta, who looked furious.

"Let the runt and the brat go find that thing," Vegeta growled. "You and I have a fight to get to, Kakkarot."

"But…the tournament is over," Goku said, scratching the back of his head.

"Who cares about the tournament?" Vegeta yelled. "You owe me a match."

Goku smirked and nodded. "Alright, we'll fight," he said before he turned to Chiara, Gohan and Shin. "The three of you should go and see what Babidi's up to."

Gohan and Shin nodded, but Chiara, feeling more like herself, just scowled.

'_So a fight is more important than the fate of the Earth,' _she thought in disbelief.

'_Come on, Chi,' _Gohan said through their link. '_You know what they're like. Let's just go.'_

Chiara huffed and took off into the air, Gohan and Shin right behind her. They flew into the direction where they still sensed the powerlevel until Chiara suddenly stopped in mid-flight. She cried out in distress and flew down to the ground. Gohan followed right behind her. Chiara groaned in agony as she sank to her knees and held her head in her hands.

"Chi, what's wrong?" Gohan asked worriedly as he kneeled beside her.

"I'm a murderer," Chiara stressed, tears appearing in her eyes. "I killed all of those people."

"It wasn't you," Shin said, after joining them. "Babidi took over your mind."

"And I let him," Chiara cried. "I felt him trying to take over, I tried to fight him but I wasn't strong enough. He…he kept telling me…that it was okay to be angry, and that I should let go. In the end, I just did."

Moments passed during which Chiara calmed down. It was only after Gohan assured her that everyone she had killed would be wished back, that she managed to continue on. They arrived at the ship minutes later, not knowing what they would find, but ready to fight until the end.


	40. Chapter 40: The Sacrifice of a Warrior

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Chapter 40, something of a milestone I should think, lol. To all the people who have reviewed, thank you all so much. You're really inspiring me to write more and more. I'm not giving anything away about the plot and what's going to happen, so questions will have to go unanswered (you know I'm talking to you, freedomzero, lol) but I will do my very best to keep surprising you all.

_Chapter XL: The Sacrifice of a Warrior._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

Chiara watched, dumbfounded, as a large pink creature came walking towards them, a big grin on his face. Her mouth dropped open as the creature called Buu, who was supposedly a very real threat to the Earth, started dancing around in front of them, yelling his own name in a very child-like voice.

"I know what you must be thinking," Shin said to Gohan and Chiara. "But please, don't underestimate him. He's very dangerous. He could destroy this entire planet with ease."

Chiara looked at Buu, who was now making funny faces at Babidi while shouting 'Buu'. She went to say something but she was cut off by a very disgruntled Dabura.

"This is the great Majin Buu?" he shouted. "This is the great fighter we've been waiting for? He's nothing but a bloated idiot."

As Dabura was saying this, Buu was getting worked up. He obviously didn't like it when people insulted him and he let Dabura know by punching him in the face. Dabura went to hit back but Buu dodged him and sent him crashing into a mountain with a single kick. As Babidi praised Buu for his actions, Gohan, Chiara and Shin looked on.

"It's obvious that he's strong, but is he really that dangerous?" Chiara asked. "He just seems like a big kid."

"That's the thing," Shin said. "He is dangerous, he's dangerous because he doesn't realize that destroying things is wrong."

"So, can't we just tell him that it's wrong?" Gohan asked.

"No, Babidi has too much power over him," Shin said grimly.

"Hm," Chiara said, looking at Buu. "We'll see."

She flew forward before Gohan or Shin could stop her and approached the mighty Buu. She cautiously approached the pink creature, not really knowing what to expect. She had seen him punch out the very powerful Dabura, but Dabura had been rather offensive, so maybe things wouldn't happen that way for her. Buu stopped dancing as he saw the young woman approach.

"Ooooh," Buu cooed, before pointing at Chiara and proudly proclaiming, "Girl."

"Yes, Buu, it's a girl. Now smash the girl," Babidi shouted.

Chiara swallowed hard as Buu approached.

"Girl come to play?" he asked.

"I'll play alright," Chiara muttered under her breath.

"Huh? Girl say something?" Buu asked.

"Yes, I said hi Buu, how's it going?" Chiara asked, sounding as cheerful as she could.

Buu giggled. "Buu good, Buu happy now he can destroy."

"Yes, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Buu, destroying is bad," Chiara said.

"Destroy bad?" Buu asked, looking very confused.

"Don't listen to her, Buu, kill her," Babidi yelled.

Chiara turned and looked at Babidi, making him start and back off a little.

"You're letting the wrinkled old man order you around?" Chiara asked, turning back to Buu.

"Babidi Buu's teacher, Babidi good," Buu said.

"No, Buu, Babidi's bad and if you don't stop destroying things, so are you," Chiara said.

Buu frowned and said, "Buu no know how to stop, Buu do what Babidi tell him, Buu fight girl."

Buu started dancing around again, giggling all the while. Chiara sighed and turned to her brother and Shin.

"It was worth a try," she said, shrugging.

Gohan nodded before Shin suddenly cried out, "Chiara, look out."

Chiara turned around just in time to see Buu's yellow gloved hand coming towards her face. She was unable to dodge the blow and she went skidding backwards on the ground.

"Chi," Gohan cried but before he could think about rushing to her side, she was already up again.

She flew at Buu and the fight began. Chiara was the aggressor for the first part of the battle. Holes appeared all over Buu's body and when he went down, his face was almost entirely gone. Chiara smirked until Buu got up and the holes disappeared, his face restoring itself completely.

"Hey," Chiara yelled, turning to Shin. "You didn't say anything about him being able to regenerate."

Shin backed away as she faced him, but said nothing. His face was as startled as Chiara's was. After that, the advantage quickly went to Buu. He beat her into the ground, leaving her no time and no opportunity to defend herself whatsoever.

Gohan was Buu's next target and the other half of the Son twins suffered the same fate as his sister. He was beaten and smashed into the ground. After the beating he took, Gohan was thought to be dead. Supreme Kai tried to defend himself but it was no use, and he knew it. He was beaten and left for dead.

Chiara, still beaten herself, went nuts thinking her brother was dead, not stopping to think that he didn't feel dead, and she fought Buu but once again couldn't beat him. She was saved from certain death but it was only for a short time as Dabura intervened but was quickly after turned into food and eaten by Buu.

Chiara tried to pull herself up but couldn't find the energy. She thought for sure that the end had come when once again, she was saved from certain death. This time, however, it was Vegeta that stood between her and Buu. Vegeta fought Buu in Chiara's stead and did a lot better for himself than Gohan and Chiara had, but in the end, he too was beaten.

When Vegeta was almost dead, Trunks and Goten came from out of nowhere and kicked Buu away. At this point in the battle, Vegeta realized that the only way to kill Buu was to incinerate him. He hugged Trunks and told him to take care of his mother. He then turned to Chiara.

"Runt," he said, a hint of a smile on his face. "Keep up your training, no slacking off."

"But…" Chiara said. "What are you going to do?"

Vegeta didn't answer and turned away from her. Chiara frowned as she turned to Piccolo and asked him what was going on. Piccolo remained silent but he didn't need to say anything. When Chiara turned back to look at Vegeta, it suddenly dawned on her.

"No," she cried and she flew down before Piccolo could stop her. "Senpai, you can't do this."

She landed and ran up to Vegeta, grabbing his arm. Tears were in her eyes as she shook her head. "You can't, you shouldn't, there's no need to."

"Runt," Vegeta grunted, surprisingly gentle as he pried her hands off his arm. "You're babbling."

"What is he going to do, Chi?" Goten asked innocently.

Chiara turned away from Vegeta to face her little brother, barely feeling the blow connect with the back of her head before everything went black.

"Hey," Goten cried, hurriedly kneeling at his sister's side. "What's the big idea?"

"Dad," Trunks cried, also kneeling down next to Chiara. "You didn't have to do that."

"She didn't do anything to you," Goten said, glaring at Vegeta.

When both Goten and Trunks turned their attention fully to Chiara, Vegeta knocked both of them out with a blow to the back of the head as well. He looked up at Piccolo and Krillin, who were watching silently.

"Take them home," Vegeta said in a firm voice.

Piccolo and Krillin landed. Piccolo cradled Chiara in his arms and Krillin picked up both Goten and Trunks.

"Will I see Kakkarot when I die?" Vegeta asked before Piccolo took off.

"You wont be going to heaven, you killed too many innocent people," Piccolo said.

Vegeta was silent for a moment before adjusting his gloves. "Hurry."

Piccolo nodded before flying off along with Krillin. Vegeta fought Buu once again and prepared to blow both of them up. Piccolo flew off, knowing that Vegeta was finally fighting for someone other than himself. Vegeta blew himself up and it seemed as if he had killed Buu.

Piccolo and Krillin encountered Babidi. Piccolo put Chiara down on the ground and told Krillin to take Trunks and Goten out of there, he would follow close behind. Krillin took off and Piccolo turned to Babidi.


	41. Chapter 41: Little Hercule Lost

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: It's a short one again, sorry about that.

_Chapter XLI: Little Hercule Lost._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

Babidi was scared to death as he faced the mighty Piccolo. He tried to use his magic on the Namekian, but, although he managed to frustrate him, his shield and attacks were no match for Piccolo's onslaught. Piccolo chopped Babidi in half and allowed himself a satisfied smirk, before turning around to pick Chiara up and to head home. When Piccolo turned around, however, she was gone. He screamed in frustration.

"Dammit, Chiara. What do you think you're doing?" he cried into the empty air, but there was no answer.

Piccolo knew he wouldn't be able to find Chiara so he decided to head back to the tournament grounds, on the off chance that someone might still be there. Once there he encountered Goku, who told him that he had teleported all their friends and family to Dende's look-out.

"Dende's...Why?" Piccolo questioned.

"Buu's not dead," Goku said, a shadow crossing his features. "He regenerated."

"You mean...Vegeta..." Piccolo began.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, we need to regroup," Goku said. "That's why I brought everyone to Dende's look-out."

"I see," Piccolo said.

Goku suddenly seemed to think of something.

"Where are Gohan and Chiara?" he asked.

Piccolo grew silent.

"Piccolo, answer me," Goku said, his face forming a frown. "Where are Gohan and Chiara?"

"Gohan died while facing Buu," Piccolo said, his eyes closed.

Goku's frown disappeared, a shocked and disbelieving expression taking its place. His mouth operated soundlessly for a few moments before he pulled himself together enough to ask, "And Chiara?"

"I don't know where she is, Vegeta knocked her out when he went to face Buu and I was carrying her back when I came across Babidi," Piccolo said. "I put her down for a short moment to deal with the little bug and when I turned back around, she was gone."

"I'll find her," Goku said, his face pale and grim. "You head for the look-out."

Piccolo went to the look-out and Goku searched for Chiara. He didn't manage to find her so he was forced to go back to the look-out without her.

Chiara had gone back to the scene of Vegeta's stand-off against Buu, not really knowing why she was going there. She looked at the large crater in the middle of the open space and choked back the tears. Something caught her eye and she blinked in disbelief when she realized it was Mr. World Champion himself. What was he doing out there?

"Probably got lost trying to find the bathroom," Chiara mused as she flew down to meet the man.

She landed in front of him, causing him to take a flying leap backwards. He sat on the floor, on his knees, his arms over his head, whimpering softly. Chiara rolled her eyes and walked to him, her arms crossed. She waited for a few seconds and he suddenly poked his head out from under his arms, his back was turned to her so he didn't see her. He got up slowly, looking all around him, except behind him. He suddenly straightened completely and laughed, loudly and obnoxiously, his fisted hands on his hips.

"Ha, my imagination is playing tricks on me," he bellowed. "There's no one here, no one would dare challenge the great Hercule."

'_Great?' _Chiara thought, '_How great is being a liar?'_

"I wouldn't know about challenging..." she said aloud, causing Hercule to whirl around in fear. "But I thought I'd ask you a few questions. What are you doing here?"

When Hercule saw that she wasn't some kind of monster, but in fact 'just a girl', he once again struck what he obviously considered to be a heroic pose and laughed.

"I should be asking you that question, young lady. This is no place for little girls," Hercule said.

"This 'little girl' is alot more capable of taking care of herself than you'll ever be," Chiara said in annoyance.

Hercule laughed again. "I hardly think so, now run along before you get hurt."

Chiara growled before she changed the subject, there was no point in killing the man after all.

"What _are_ you doing here?" Chiara said. "Shouldn't you be at home licking your wounds after losing the tournament?"

"I'll have you know, little lady, that I won the tournament," Hercule said, still in his ridiculous pose.

"You won?" Chiara laughed. "Who did you bribe to get that done?"

Much to her surprise, the man in front of her actually blushed at that and seemed to be unsure of what to say. Her mouth dropped open as she realized what that meant.

"You _did_ bribe somebody?" she asked. "Who?"

"Well, I eh…that is…I…" Hercule stammered before he managed to pull himself together. "That's none of your business, now do as I say and run along."

Chiara shrugged and turned away. "Very well, if that's what you want. I've got better things to do than to stand here talking to you anyway."

She took off into the air and left Hercule to stare after her in disbelief.

"It's a trick, that's all it is," he muttered.


	42. Chapter 42: Reunited Twins

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: The next chapter in the Son Chiara saga. Chiara and Gohan meet up again, I hope you all enjoy.

_Chapter XLII: Reunited Twins._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

When Chiara had said to Hercule that she had better things to do than to stand there talking to him, she had meant it. She had to go back to the spot where her brother had been defeated by Buu. But she wasn't going to retrieve his body. No, if her instincts were correct and the Gods answered her prayers, she would be bringing Gohan back alive.

Gohan had described what it had felt like when she died on Namek. He called it physically and mentally painful. But while Chiara was mentally hurting, physically she was not. She clung onto the hope that that meant Gohan was still alive.

She flew as fast as she dared. She didn't want to raise her powerlevel too much, what with Buu still flying around somewhere. The uncertainty, however, was driving her crazy. If he wasn't dead, where was he? What condition was he in? She couldn't sense him and there was no answer through their mental link, though she was trying almost constantly.

"Where are you, bro?" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

She frowned when she sensed someone flying at her. Was it an enemy? Had Buu sensed her? She got into a fighting stance and tensely waited. Her jaw dropped when she saw who it was. Kibito. The last time she had seen him, he had been made of stone. Now, he looked fine, if less than pleased to see her.

She figured he was probably still sore about her hitting the Supreme Kai. She supposed she could understand that, but she wasn't sorry. She had had a good reason to hit him, after all. She didn't have time for squabbling anyway, she needed to find her twin brother.

"Have you seen Gohan?" was the first thing she said to him.

"No," he frowned. "I am looking for my master."

"I haven't seen him," Chiara sighed. "I haven't seen anybody except for mr. World Champion."

Kibito frowned, but Chiara cut in before he could even ask. "We better search together. We'll have a better chance of finding them that way."

Kibito hesitated for a moment, before nodding reluctantly. They searched together, their combined eyes seeing far more than they would have on their own. Before long they came upon the hopefully still alive Supreme Kai. Kibito rushed to the Kai's side and much to Chiara's disbelief, started healing him.

Soon, Supreme Kai was revived and Kibito was quizzing him. Did he feel alright? Did he need to rest? Supreme assured Kibito that he was fine but Chiara heard none of it. Her attention was firmly fixed on Kibito.

"You're a healer?" she asked him in wonder.

Kibito nodded slowly.

"That's great," the female Saiyan enthused. "As soon as we find Gohan, you can heal him."

"Chiara," Supreme Kai said gently. "Gohan is dead."

"No, he isn't," Chiara said.

"Yes, he is," Supreme Kai insisted softly. "Buu killed him."

"No, he didn't," Chiara said. "I thought so too at first. But that was only because I didn't know what his death was supposed to feel like. I know that he's alive. I can feel that he is, but we need to hurry up and find him, because he won't be for long."

She jumped up and flew into the air. "Come on," she called over her shoulder before she took off.

Kibito turned to his master. "What do we do, master?" he asked gruffly.

"We follow her," he said decisively as he got up. "And we pray that she's right."

It wasn't long before they met up with Chiara, who had found Gohan and was now frantically fussing over him.

"Hurry up," she yelled up at them when she spotted them. "He needs help."

The two landed and Kibito glanced at his master. Chiara watched from a distance as the two of them conversed, Kibito wildly waving his arms about at one point. She was just contemplating calling out to them again, to tell them to hurry, when Supreme Kai stepped forward.

"We will take both of you to our planet before Kibito heals Gohan," he said.

"Why?" Chiara demanded. "Why can't you heal him now?"

"Don't ask impertinent questions," Kibito snapped. "You should be grateful we are letting you go to our planet. It is unheard of."

She could tell by the look on his face he didn't agree with his master's decision at all. She nodded. She'd agree to anything as long as they helped Gohan.

"How will we get there?" she asked.

"We will teleport," Supreme Kai said.

"You can teleport?" she asked him. Adding when he nodded, "So can I."

Kibito mumbled that it wasn't the same thing but he was ignored. In the end, Chiara put a hand on Gohan's shoulder, while Supreme Kai put a hand on her shoulder and Kibito put a hand on his. Two seconds later they were on the Supreme Kai's planet.

Chiara would have been in awe of her surroundings if she hadn't been so focused on her twin, who was being healed by Kibito. It took only moments for that to be done and when it was, she wasted no time in letting her brother know she was there.

"Gohan," she enthused, throwing herself into his arms just as he was sitting up, sending them both to the ground.

Gohan chuckled as he hugged his sister back.

"Thank Dende you're okay," Chiara cried.

"What happened?" Gohan asked. "All I remember is being knocked out by Buu."

"I suppose that's really all that's happened to you," Chiara mused. "You were knocked out. I thought you had been killed because I felt so bad seeing you get knocked down like that. I didn't realize that you dying would feel a whole lot worse."

Gohan nodded. He remembered what his sister's death had felt like and shuddered. He prayed he'd never have to go through that again.

"A lot has changed since then," Chiara said, suddenly looking very sad.

She looked at the ground for a moment before looking at Gohan again, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Senpai's gone," she whispered.

"Vegeta…died?" Gohan asked, shocked at the thought.

Chiara nodded.

"How?" Gohan asked.

"He sacrificed himself to kill Buu," Chiara said.

"Then Buu is…" Gohan began but Chiara cut him off by shaking her head.

"It didn't work," she said. "Buu is still out there and Senpai died for nothing."

Gohan wrapped an arm around a now freely crying Chiara and comforted her, hugging her small form to his chest. After a long moment, Chiara calmed down a little. Gohan went to say something when the clearing of a throat made them both look up to see Kibito and Supreme Kai standing there. Supreme Kai looked serene and understanding while Kibito simply looked annoyed.

Chiara and Gohan both looked at them sheepishly, they had forgotten all about them. Supreme Kai stepped forward while Kibito muttered about the exuberance of youth and how they had no respect anymore nowadays.

"Gohan," Supreme Kai said in greeting. "We are glad that you are well, but there are urgent things we have to talk about. We brought you here for a reason."

"I still think you are mistaken, master," Kibito said, ceasing his muttering and joining them. "What we are looking for is someone who fits in a story of legend. How can this young boy be that person? How can he be the prophecized one?"

"I've already told you, Kibito," Supreme Kai said calmly. "You only saw him fight in the tournament. I saw him fight a real battle."

Supreme Kai proceeded to explain about the z-sword and how the person who could pull it out of its rock would be undefeatable.

"But why does the prophecy have to mean me?" Gohan questioned. "Couldn't it be Chiara?"

They had the distinct pleasure of seeing the Supreme Kai blush, probably a very rare thing. "Well," he said. "The prophecy mentioned that it…had to be a…man."

"Figures," Chiara muttered, before saying more loudly, "Alright then, let's see this z-sword."

"Not the way you are, you won't," Kibito suddenly said. "Look at the two of you. Walking around a sacred planet wearing little more than rags."

Both Son teens looked at their clothing and Chiara blushed when she saw there was little left of her shirt – though her bra was thankfully still intact – and she had been walking around like that for some time.

She coughed slightly and said, "I don't have any other shirt with me."

"I'd give you mine, but…" Gohan trailed off, gesturing at the rag that was once a shirt.

Kibito grunted in annoyance before raising his left hand. When he lowered it again, both Sons were wearing the same kind of outfit Supreme Kai and Kibito were wearing. Chiara gave a delighted gasp when she saw the clothes, they were nice.


	43. Chapter 43: The Z Sword

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XLIII: The Z-Sword._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

"Okay," Gohan said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's give it a go."

He grabbed hold of the hilt of the sword and started pulling. After a long moment, he let go of the sword.

"Gosh," he said, grinning. "That's really in there."

He spat in his hands, making Kibito wince and mumble angrily, repositioned his feet and grabbed hold of the sword again. He pulled with all his might, screaming at the effort but the sword refused to budge. Kibito took the opportunity to gloat.

"I thought as much," he sneered. "The z-sword is meant only for a true hero. You'll never be able to do it."

Chiara frowned but Gohan merely shrugged.

"We'll see," he said before turning Super Saiyan.

Kibito gawked as Gohan again grabbed the sword and pulled. It took a lot of effort but eventually the sword came flying out. Chiara applauded enthusiastically.

"Way to go, Gohan," she cheered.

Kibito glared at Chiara as she continued to applaud her brother.

"How does it feel to hold the z-sword?" Supreme Kai asked, looking fascinated.

"It's really heavy," Gohan said simply.

Chiara grinned at that. Trust her brother to state the obvious. She watched him proudly as he stood there, slowly gaining control of the blade. He really was a great fighter, and she wasn't surprised that he would turn out to be the one to pull out a legendary sword like that.

She watched as Gohan gave the sword to Kibito, causing it to promptly fall to the ground. Kibito was then unable to pick it up again. He embarassedly turned his back on them all, mumbling that it was very heavy.

"What about you, Chi?" Gohan asked. "Do you want to give it a try?"

"Oh no," she said, taking a step back. "I won't be able to hold it and I have no intention of making a fool of myself."

Kibito glared at Chiara again at that. She decided to try and cheer him up.

"You don't need to be embarassed," she said cheerfully. "It _is_ very heavy."

But for some reason that just made him glare even more. Chiara shrugged.

'_I give up,' _she thought.

Gohan, meanwhile, had started swinging the sword, with difficulty at first but more easily as time went by. He swung the sword around, getting better at balancing it as he practiced. Chiara watched proudly, Supreme Kai watched happily and Kibito was in shock.

Suddenly Gohan swung the sword and came within a few inches of cutting Goku's head off as he suddenly appeared on Supreme Kai's planet. Goku cried out, a few strands of his hair flying into the air.

"Dad," Gohan said, looking at Goku, who was on the floor, clutching his head. "What are you doing? Dad?"

"Who? Me? Nothing," Goku said, before joking, "Just trying to keep my head."

He got up slowly and suddenly noticed Gohan's outfit.

"Hey, look at those fancy new clothes, wauw," Goku said, before looking over at Chiara. "And Chi too."

"Supreme Kai gave them to us," Gohan said, a slight smile on his face. "Cool, huh?"

"Huh? Kai's here?" Goku asked.

"Of course he's here," Chiara cut in impatiently. "It is his planet after all."

Goku looked at his daughter for a second before nodding. "Hello there, Supreme Kai."

"Greetings, Goku," Supreme Kai called back.

Kibito was still gawking at Goku.

"It defies all logic," he ground out. "How did he get here? It's not possible."

"How strange," Goku said, looking around. "What is this place?"

"It's a special sanctuary, dad, but why are you here?" Gohan asked. "24 hours aren't up yet."

"Yeah, _dad_, why aren't you with mom?" Chiara asked. "Unless of course even 24 hours is too long to spend with someone you supposedly love."

Goku frowned and went to dispute what she had just said, but Gohan cut in.

"Chi, dad, please," Gohan pleaded.

Chiara turned away with a scowl while Goku continued to look at her, the frown still on his face.

"What's going on down there?" Gohan asked Goku.

"Nothing good," Goku answered, his eyes still on Chiara. "Everywhere Majin Buu goes he leaves a path of death and destruction in his wake."

Goku finally looked away from Chiara as he and Gohan sat down.

"Goten and Trunks are trying to perfect the fusion technique," Goku continued. "But in the mean time millions and millions of innocent people are dying."

Chiara looked at the ground at that. She had had a hand in people dying that day, and she still couldn't get over what she had done. She wasn't a murderer, yet she had allowed Babidi to turn her into one.

"He won't stop," Supreme Kai said, looking angry. "Not until they're all dead. Every last one of them."

They sat in grim silence for a long moment, Chiara having her back turned at all of them, behaving an awful lot like Vegeta would. She had no idea how much she had begun to resemble her Senpai, but it wasn't lost on the people around her, Goku included. He looked at her with a frown on his face.

He had missed so much of his daughter's life. He had missed her first date, her first boyfriend, her first heartbreak. In the depth of his heart he acknowledged that her very first heartbreak had not been because of a boyfriend, it had been because of her own father. He wouldn't allow himself to think that, however, and he swiftly pushed all dark thoughts away when he caught sight of the sword at Gohan's side.

"Hey, can I check that sword out, Gohan?" he asked. "Gohan, hello?"

Gohan snapped out of his own dark thoughts and looked at his father.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry, dad," he said, holding out the sword to his father. "Here. Be careful though, it's kinda heavy."

Chiara snorted. "Kind of?" she repeated incredulously.

"Alright," Gohan conceded with a smile. "Very heavy."

"It sure is a beauty," Goku said, accepting the sword.

The tip of the sword promptly fell to the ground again and Goku cried out in surprise.

"Wow, you weren't kidding," he said. "You really could hurt yourself swinging this thing around. Unless you put your body behind it, like this."

They all watched as Goku swung the sword around, except for Chiara. She kept her back turned. She didn't feel the need to watch him show off.

'_Only he doesn't do it to show off, does he?' _a voice said.

Chiara started, turning slightly to look at Gohan, thinking that he had sent the thought. Gohan, however, was proudly watching Goku, not looking at her. She checked their link and noticed it was half-closed. The thought would have been vague if Gohan had sent it, yet it had been clear.

'_Not all thoughts you hear need to be yours or your brother's,' _the voice said.

She frowned, this time turning to Kibito and Supreme Kai. Kibito was watching Goku in disbelief but Supreme Kai was looking straight at her.

'_So you're telepathic now?' _she sent to him.

'_When I need to be,' _Kai confirmed.

'_And why would you need to be now?' _she thought.

'_Goku isn't a bad person, he never meant to hurt any of you,' _Kai sent, neither of them noticing that Gohan was now listening.

'_What would you know of it?' _Chiara snapped. '_How long have you known him? Less than a day. You know nothing about any of it. And even if you did, I will not stand for your interference.'_

Supreme Kai nodded slowly and respectfully withdrew from her mind. She wasn't ready to talk about such a delicate subject yet, she may never be. It made Kai sad to see her so removed from her father. Whatever mistakes Son Goku had made, it wasn't worth losing their father daughter relationship over.

Chiara, in the mean time, seethed. How dare he tell her she was wrong? She wasn't wrong. She wasn't. She was the only who saw the truth, she was the only one who saw Son Goku for what he truly was. They were wrong. She was right.


	44. Chapter 44: The Emergence of Old Kai

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XLIV: The Emergence of Old Kai._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

Chiara sat underneath a tree and watched as Gohan and Goku toyed around with the sword. They wanted to see how sharp the sword really was. Goku threw a large boulder at Gohan and the sword went straight through it. Supreme Kai suggested testing it on something a little more difficult.

"How about more density and a little less mass?" he asked.

They all watched in confusion as Supreme Kai lifted his hand and conjured up a square block of some kind of material. He turned to Goku.

"Here, Goku, catch," he said.

He threw the block at Goku, who scrambled to catch it. He caught it but strained under the weight.

"Wauw," he cried. "What's this?"

"That is the hardest known metal in the universe. It's called Kachine," Supreme Kai explained.

"Ka-ching?" Gohan whispered at Chiara, who shrugged.

Goku tapped the metal with one finger, still holding the block over his head.

"Oh, Kachine," he said.

"Yes," Supreme Kai said. "This will be a much better test."

"You're not kidding," Goku said, walking towards Gohan. "Hey, Gohan, ready?"

Gohan readied his sword and said, "Let her fly, dad."

"Alright, here it comes," Goku said, pulling his arms back and throwing the block at Gohan.

Gohan swung the sword and met the block head-on, but instead of slicing through the block, the sword broke. Gohan cried out, looking at the sword in disbelief. Supreme Kai and Kibito reacted much the same. Goku looked vaguely puzzled and Chiara put her hand over her mouth.

'_A legendary sword and my brother breaks it,' _she thought, half amused, half shocked.

The block kept on flying in the mean time, landing in front of Chiara, who stopped it with her foot.

"Oh no," Gohan said, looking at the sword. "Now it's the z-dagger."

"Please no," Supreme Kai cried. "Tell me it's not true, Kibito."

"It's true," Kibito choked out. "It's snapped in two."

"Uh oh," Goku said, not looking upset in the slightest. "Wauw. I guess it's probably called the hardest metal in the universe for a reason, isn't it?"

Supreme Kai and Kibito could only twaddle incoherently, they couldn't believe it.

"Huh, I guess they must have exaggerated a little bit," Gohan said, before dropping the sword.

Supreme Kai could only gawk in disbelief and shock.

"Well, it's not like Gohan will need the sword anymore anyway," Chiara tried. "He's gotten much stronger just swinging it. He can beat Buu without it."

Kibito turned to Chiara, a furious expression on his face.

"Yes, that _is_ a handy excuse, isn't it?" he snapped, his usually dark pink face turning red. "You come to this sacred planet and pretend like you own it, tramping all over the place and breaking everything down…"

Supreme Kai held up his hand and stopped Kibito mid-rant.

"Chiara is right," he said, becoming enthusiastic himself. "Gohan has become much stronger now. And if he's this strong at this level, he'll be much stronger as a Super Saiyan. Yes, sure, that must be it, Gohan doesn't need the sword, he's already gained the power."

"Yeah, but…does Gohan's power surpass Majin Buu's? I'm not so sure," Goku said.

"Huh? What are you saying, Goku?" Supreme Kai demanded. "That we don't have a chance?"

"Quiet," a quivery voice cried out of nowhere.

Everyone started and whirled around to face a small and old form, dressed in the same clothes as Supreme Kai, Kibito, Chiara and Gohan. Chiara, Gohan and Goku got into a fighting position. It wasn't necessary, however, as whomever they were now facing wasn't hostile.

"Um, sir," Goku tried. "We're in the middle of training."

"You call that training?" the old figure asked. He cackled.

"Who are you?" Supreme Kai demanded. "How did you get here?"

"Who? Me?" he asked. "Check out the hairstyle, youngster. And the earloops. And the dashing looks. I'm just an older version of you. Fifteen generations to be precise."

Goku looked at Gohan and Chiara, a questioning look on his face. Gohan merely shrugged but Chiara moved forward.

"Fifteen generations?" she asked. "How old are you?"

"Don't be asking rude questions, young lady," Old Kai scolded. "Though I admit it's quite remarkable." He coughed, sounding decidedly ill, before straightening up. "Well then, I'm sure you're wondering how I'm still alive. Well listen."

He proceded to tell them about a terrible villain from way back then, who tricked him and sealed him inside the z-sword.

"You were trapped inside the z-sword all this time?" Supreme Kai asked.

Old Kai nodded. "I sure was. Now I've got a cramp."

"I don't think this guy looks as strong as he says," Goku said to Gohan and Chiara. "You?"

Chiara shook her head and Gohan said, "Not really."

"Hey," Goku said. "Let's put him to the test."

"What? Dad, I don't know," Gohan protested but Chiara smiled.

"Yeah, let's," Chiara agreed. "If he's so great, let him prove it."

She raised her left hand and created a small ball of energy, sending it straight for Old Kai. It flew between Supreme Kai and Kibito, who watched it go in disbelief, and hit Old Kai in the face, sending him flying back. Goku, Gohan, Supreme Kai and Kibito all cried out in dismay. Chiara merely watched, her eyes wide. Supreme Kai and Kibito rushed to the Old Kai's side.

"Venerable sir," Kibito said. "Are you alright?"

Old Kai was dazed for a brief moment before he jumped up, shouting at Chiara, "How dare you? Throwing fireballs at someone like me, are you cracked?"

Chiara merely stood there, looking at the Kai in front of her.

"But sir, that attack was just child's play," Goku said.

"My little brother could have handled that," Gohan said.

"All my enemies feared me," Old Kai said. "But not because of my strength. My menacing capacities were what struck terror into their hearts."

Chiara said nothing, still standing there, looking at Old Kai, an almost vulnerable look on her face.

"Capacities?" Goku asked.

"Menacing?" Gohan asked.

"What do you mean?" Goku asked

"I'm not telling," Old Kai said, crossing his arms. "Give me one good reason why I should."

While Goku argued with Old Kai, Gohan turned his attention to his twin, finally noticing that she was still standing there and hadn't said a word since she blasted Old Kai.

"Chi?" he said softly. "Are you okay?"

Chiara's expression never changed as she turned to her brother.

"I could have killed him," she whispered. "I never even considered that I could have killed him. I just blasted him in the face without even thinking of the consequences."

Gohan nodded slowly, he had a feeling that this wasn't about Old Kai. It was about the people she had killed at the stadium.

"It wasn't your fault, Chi," he said gently. "You weren't yourself."

"I could have been," Chiara argued. "I could have fought harder and then I would have been myself. And then it wouldn't have happened."

"I know, but you couldn't have known that Babidi would try to attack your mind like that," Gohan said. "You weren't ready for an attack like that, none of us would have been."

Chiara swallowed hard, turning away from her brother. He wouldn't let her do that, however, as he turned her back to him, taking her into his arms as tears started flowing down her cheeks. She sobbed into his shoulder, neither of them noticing that the others were now watching. Goku watched his daughter as she cried, wishing that he could go over there and hug her like Gohan could. He knew she wouldn't accept that, however, she probably never would again.


	45. Chapter 45: Waking Up Sleeping Powers

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: A really short one again, sorry about that. I like how it came out though, so maybe that makes up for it being so short.

_Chapter XLV: Waking Up Sleeping Powers._

_775 A.D. May the 7th._

Son Chiara's patience had never been stellar and her temper had always been short. Even as a child she displayed fits of temper that had often, if not always, gotten her sent to her room, usually under loud protest. Time did nothing to improve her temperament. If anything, it just got worse.

The cause of her less than sunny disposition was, as it had always been, Son Goku. The fury she felt whenever she thought of the man was beyond anything she had felt before. She hated that he had abandoned them, she hated that her mother was always crying, but, above all else, she hated that she missed the man. That underneath the fury there was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to have him back, to forgive and forget.

Son Goku didn't understand the damage he had caused by not coming back, and, as she watched him snooze underneath a tree on Supreme Kai's peaceful little planet, she knew he never would. He loved them all more than life itself, and maybe that was the problem. He didn't need to die for them, he needed to live for them.

She didn't know why he had declined to come back to them seven years earlier but she knew it wasn't to keep the Earth safe. They had dealt with a whole plethora of evil villains and fiends over the previous seven years and none of them had ever even heard of Son Goku.

No, she knew he hadn't revealed the true reason. Maybe he had stayed away so he could train without interruptions, maybe he just didn't want to be tied down anymore. She didn't know, but she did know that he was a selfish liar.

Her views didn't meet with a whole lot of support, not from her family, and not from her friends. Her mother denied it, her twin ignored it, her little brother simply didn't know it. Her friends were even worse. They pretended he wasn't even gone, talking about him in the present tense.

What they didn't see was that he wasn't coming back. What they failed to appreciate was that while Son Goku loved them all, he didn't care in the slightest. How could he care? He was too busy being the hero of Earth. She scoffed. Some hero if he was never there.

She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away as he was waking up. She instead focused on her twin, who was still waiting for Old Kai's ritual to be finished. She grinned as she saw the expression on his face. He looked annoyed and confused. Of course, Son Gohan looking confused was no rarity. She sent this thought to him.

'_Hey,' _came the indignant reply. '_That's not funny, Chi.'_

'_I'm sorry, bro,' _Chiara sent back, though she wasn't really.

'_Those were some pretty serious thoughts you were having just now,'_ Gohan sent.

Chiara started, she had thought their link was closed.

'_It was for the most part,' _Gohan put in, picking up on that thought. '_Just every now and then something slipped through.'_

Chiara nodded slowly, even though her brother couldn't see that from where he was sitting. She didn't really want to talk about what she had been thinking, and there was no point in talking about it anyway. Gohan didn't see things the way she did. They could only disagree.

'_Do you suppose he's actually doing anything?' _she asked, changing the subject.

'_I don't know,' _Gohan admitted. '_It doesn't feel like it. And after all the trouble we went to to get him to agree to do this as well.'_

Chiara nodded. Goku had discovered that Old Kai was a lot like Master Roshi and by promising to get him a date with a real life Earth woman, he agreed to do the training. Videl was out of the question, Gohan had made that clear. ChiChi would have his head, and he didn't want his wife to date anyone else anyway. Chiara had made it known right away that she wasn't going to, by all but frying him when he suggested it, so that left Bulma, and Chiara could just imagine what her Senpai would have to say about that.

The promise had done its work though, Old Kai was now in the midst of the ritual…supposedly. At the moment, it just looked like he was sleeping. Gohan was running out of patience. After many hours, he was still sitting around doing nothing and Old Kai was now snoring.

"Are you sleeping?" he asked Old Kai.

There was no answer, just more snoring, and Gohan lost his temper.

"I asked you a question," he shouted.

Old Kai started awake, wildly looking around him, "Where am I?"

"You went to sleep," Gohan accused. "I thought you were supposed to be waking up my sleeping powers."

"I _am_ waking them up," Old Kai snapped. "I wasn't sleeping, I was meditating."

"Right," Chiara snorted from where she was sitting. "I could hear you snoring from here."

"I wasn't snoring," Old Kai yelled, jumping to his feet. "First you shoot your elders, now you question them? Kai's cannot lie and when I say I was meditating, I was meditating."

He then sat down again and went back to sleep. Chiara and Gohan watched him in disbelief.

"Why do I feel like I'm wasting my time?" Gohan asked.

When Old Kai woke up again, his supposed ritual didn't get any better. He was reading magazines and watching tv, basically doing anything except waking up any sleeping powers.

"I'm beginning to wonder if this guy has any power at all," Gohan sulked as he sat there.

"You're _beginning_ to wonder?" Chiara chuckled.

Gohan grinned, then sighed again. "At this rate we'll never get back to Earth."

"Well, look at the bright side," Chiara suggested.

"What's the bright side?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me," she said, lounging on the grass.

Gohan chuckled and shook his head. This was going to take forever.


	46. Chapter 46: Sleeping Beauty

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Okay, this isn't something I would normally do, but I've now gotten some very positive reviews (two very insistent ones from Clare-stovold, lol) and I can't help but want to thank you all for that. How better to thank you all then by updating the day after I already updated. Let it never be said that I ignore my fans, lol. I'm only doing this once, though.

To Abby: You make a valid point, but I never really liked the word 'sensei' and when I looked up the Japanese word 'Senpai' in a dictionary, it said that it means 'Senior (at work or school)', 'Superior' or 'Elder' and that's what I wanted it to mean, so…I hope that answers that.

_Chapter XLVI: Sleeping Beauty._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

Chiara watched with pride as Gohan powered up, his powerlevel beyond belief. He had changed his outfit to look like their father's and he looked every bit like him.

"Yeah," she cheered. "There's no way Buu can beat you now, Gohan. He doesn't stand a chance."

Goku nodded and Supreme Kai smiled, things were looking up.

"Yeah," Gohan agreed. "There's only one thing, Chi."

"What's that, bro?" she asked, still smiling.

"I want you to stay here with dad and Supreme Kai," Gohan said.

Chiara's smile faded as his words registered. "What?"

"I don't want to have to worry about you while I'm down there," Gohan said. "Buu could…"

"Don't try that on me," Chiara cut in. "You know I'll stay out of the way. But I _am_ going."

Gohan was finally ready to go back to Earth to face Buu after spending 25 hours standing around.

He changed his outfit to look like Goku's.

Gohan demanded that Chiara stay on the Kai planet but Chiara refused.

"I mean it, Chi," Gohan said. "I want you to stay here."

"That's too bad, because I'm coming along," Chiara said firmly.

"Supreme Kai is the one who will be taking me back to Earth," Gohan pointed out. "He won't be taking you with him."

Chiara scowled angrily before turning away from her brother and walking out of sight, furious that he would treat her like that. Gohan turned to his father, sure that Chiara was just frustrated. Chiara, however, was more than just frustrated, she was seething. She waited for them to start talking before she teleported off Supreme Kai's planet and back to Earth.

She teleported straight into the scene of Buu's fight against Goten, Trunks and Piccolo. She appeared just as Buu was taking a swing at the Piccolo and ended up taking the shot for him. She skidded across the ground and came to a stop some distance away.

"Chiara," Piccolo exclaimed.

"Chi," Goten cried.

"Oh no," Trunks said as he and Goten ran to the now sitting female Saiyan.

"What on Earth was that?" Chiara ground out, rubbing the side of her head.

Before either of the two boys could answer, Chiara looked up and noticed that she was talking to two boys, instead of one.

"Why aren't you two fused anymore?" she asked.

"Well, the fusion kind of wore off," Trunks said, scratching the side of his head.

"Yeah," Goten said, swallowing nervously. "Trunks says we're toast."

Chiara looked at Trunks and the young boy blushed.

"Hey," Goten suddenly said. "Where did you get the clothes?"

"Supreme Kai gave them to me," Chiara smiled. "Nice, huh?"

"Yeah," Goten agreed. "Do you think I could have an outfit like that?"

"I'm sure you could, little man," Chiara said, getting to her feet. "But you'll have to ask mom."

For some reason that comment made Goten's face fall and she was about to ask why when Piccolo cut in.

"If you three are quite done having a nice chat, we are on the verge of being killed here," he spat.

All four of them were startled when they heard some kind of groan coming from Buu. They all turned to him, ready to fight to the end when they noticed that he was, in fact, yawning. He sat down on the ground and tucked his head into his chest.

"What?" Piccolo cried.

"Hey, what's the matter with Majin Buu?" Goten asked.

"I don't know," Trunks said.

"Do you hear that?" Piccolo asked. "Listen."

Chiara very carefully began to approach.

"Are you nuts?" Piccolo said. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

She ignored his protests and quietly walked over to the now momentarily harmless monster and crouched down in front of him. She looked and listened for a moment before just as quietly getting up and walking back to her little brother and her two friends.

"He's sleeping," she said softly, her voice tinged with disbelief.

They all looked a little closer and Trunks blinked a few times before saying, "He really is. Isn't he, Goten?"

"I don't know," the smaller boy said. "He might be."

"What if he isn't?" Piccolo asked. "What if he's toying with us?"

"He isn't," Chiara assured. "Trust me. You don't sound like that when you're just playing."

At that reassurance Goten and Trunks ran forward to see for themselves. Chiara quickly followed them. Piccolo followed more slowly. Goten and Trunks stepped closer carefully, their steps unsure now that they were getting closer. There was a bubble hanging from Buu's nose and when it burst, the two boys leaped back in fright. They landed on the ground, their backs to Buu, their eyes firmly closed.

"Is he awake?" Trunks asked.

"I don't know, my eyes are closed," Goten said.

They yelped when they felt themselves getting picked up from the ground and screamed, thinking it was Buu.

"Don't hurt us, please," Trunks cried.

"We were going to get you candy," Goten yelled, referring to a plan Trunks had had earlier to make peace with Buu.

"Calm down, it's only me," Chiara hissed and both boys kept quiet. She put them down and folded her arms. "Buu is asleep for now, but if you two keep up the noise, he won't be for long."

"Get over here," Piccolo growled. "We should be using this time to prepare for the next fusion."

"But…" Goten began.

"Go to Piccolo," Chiara ordered.

Both boys grudgingly obeyed and went to Piccolo.

Piccolo grunted. "I'm getting too old for this."

"Oh come on now, Piccolo," Chiara grinned. "If age were a factor it would have caught up with you a long time ago."

Piccolo returned the grin. "Watch your tongue, young lady."

Their grins disappeared when they became aware of a huge powerlevel. Piccolo, Chiara, Trunks and Goten all looked up. Buu promptly woke up and looked up also.

"What is it?" Piccolo ground out. "It's mind boggling."

"It's a person," Trunks said, trembling all over at the power he felt.

"Yeah," Goten agreed. "Someone's coming."

"But who is it?" Piccolo asked. "I've never experienced a power like this. It's outrageously strong. It…it could be a new enemy. Boys, stay close."

Chiara merely smiled happily. Son Gohan had arrived.


	47. Chapter 47: Gohan Has Arrived

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

_Chapter XLVII: Gohan Has Arrived._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

When the others realized that it wasn't an enemy, they at first mistook the new arrival for Goku.

"You'd think, huh?" Chiara said. "No, it's Gohan."

They looked more closely and saw that it was indeed Gohan, an enormously powerful Gohan.

"Gohan," Piccolo said in disbelief.

Gohan landed between his family and friends and Buu himself, placing himself in the line of fire. Buu was growling at Gohan, obviously annoyed that he had shown up. When the dust settled, Gohan turned to those behind him.

"Hey guys," he said. "What's happening?"

"Hey there, Gohan," Trunks said, still in disbelief.

Goten, however, was smiling happily. "Hi, Gohan," he chirped. "What's up? We all thought that you were dead."

"I would have been if it wasn't for the help of Supreme Kai," Gohan said. "But that's all in the past. I think it's time to focus on the here and now. Though I think you and I need to talk about that teleporting thing you keep doing, Chi. It's really unfair."

Chiara shrugged. "I told you I was going."

"Yeah," Gohan smirked. "And I'll remember not to doubt you in future." He quickly turned serious again and said, "Where are the others?"

"They're all dead," Trunks cried. "He killed them."

"Huh? What about Dende? Is he alright?" Gohan asked.

"Him too. Mom, Videl, everyone, Gohan," Goten said, his little fists clenched.

Gohan growled and turned back to Buu. The monster would pay for killing his loved ones.

"Mom's dead?" a small voice asked.

They all turned and looked at Chiara, who had a shocked look on her face. Piccolo gently nodded and Chiara took a step back, her face a picture of horror. She took a moment to compose herself and her face hardened. Buu would pay. She would make sure of it, one way or another.

Gohan slowly and calmly made his way over to Buu, until he stood straight in front of him. The top of Gohan's head reached Buu's chest but Chiara, better than anyone, understood that size meant nothing.

"So, hotshot, you want to fight Majin Buu," Buu said.

"Fight you?" Gohan asked with a smirk. "No, I wanna kill you."

There was a long moment in which Buu and Gohan stared at eachother, sizing eachother up. This continued until Buu broke into laughter.

"I recognize you now," he said. "You're one of the ones I've beaten before. So, you want some more. Okay, but this is going to be the last time."

Gohan merely smirked and Buu seemed angered about this. Chiara smirked.

'_That's right, Gohan,' _she thought. '_Make him as mad as he can get. It won't do him any good, anyway.'_

"This is bad," Goten said. "We can't just stand here, Trunks. We have to help him."

"But how?" Trunks asked. "It's too soon to do the fusion again."

"It's worth a try," Goten said. "I can't watch Gohan get killed." Tears appeared in his eyes as he said, "He's my brother. I love him."

Gentle hands appeared on his shoulders and he looked up at his sister.

"Gohan can handle Buu, Goten," Chiara said. "You have to believe."

"But…we could at least help," Goten argued.

Chiara crouched in front of Goten and said while wiping his tears away, "If you think fusing will help Gohan, do it, but I assure you, little man, Gohan will be fine."

"Yeah," Trunks agreed. "But let's try the fusion anyway."

"Yeah," Goten said. "Thanks, Chi. Come on, Trunks."

The two boys shot into the air and landed on a rock nearby, prepared to do the fusion again. The fusion never came to be though and it soon became clear that it wasn't necessary anyway, as Gohan fought Buu and was easily stronger.

Buu, however, wouldn't go out easily. He countered Gohan's onslaught by very suddenly powering up. Upon realizing that the monster was going to destroy himself, Gohan grabbed hold of Piccolo, Goten and Trunks and, after making sure that Chiara had teleported out of harm's way, got out of the way of the massive explosion that followed.

"What do you think?" Piccolo asked as they all looked at the massive hole in the ground. "Is he dead?"

"No way," Gohan said.

"What?" Trunks cried. "But we thought he blew himself up."

"He blew himself up, yes," Chiara confirmed. "But don't forget, he can regenerate. He's probably putting himself together again as we speak."

"He wants us to believe that he's dead," Gohan added. "But that freak is still out there somewhere."

"Are you positive?" Piccolo asked. "I can't sense him. There's no signal."

"That doesn't mean he's not out there," Chiara said. "He could be hiding, masking his powerlevel."

Gohan nodded in agreement.

"Hey," Goten said, looking around. "That means he could be ambushing us."

"Could be," Gohan said. "He's obviously planning something."

They all looked down at the hole again until Trunks spoke up, "Hey, it doesn't matter if he's alive. Gohan's here. What are we worried about? This here is the man." Goten was nodding in agreement and Trunks continued, "Even we were stronger than Buu when we were Super Gotenks."

"No, we were about the same," Goten said.

"Really?" Trunks asked. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Gohan and Chiara were watching the two boys fondly.

"Well, at least Gohan can beat him," Trunks said.

"Yeah," Goten cheered.

Chiara walked to the edge of the cliff they stood on, and was soon joined by Gohan and Piccolo.

"Oh, by the way, how did you get so strong?" Piccolo asked Gohan.

Chiara chuckled. "Go on, Gohan. Explain about how your sleepy powers were woken up."

Gohan merely shook his head. "It's a long story, so we better sit down for it."

A long while later, the full story had been told.

"So breaking the z-sword turned out to be a blessing in disguise," Piccolo said.

"Exactly," Gohan agreed.

"It's strange how things work out sometimes," Piccolo said.

"Yeah," Gohan said.

"Just one thing," Piccolo said.

"What's that?" Gohan asked.

"Did Chiara really shoot a beam at the Older Kai?" Piccolo asked in disbelief.

Gohan chuckled. "Yeah, she did."

Chiara blushed, picking at the fabric of her pants. "He was boasting about how strong he was, I was only trying to test him."

"Well, you did," Piccolo said, nodding slowly. "Serves him right for opening his big mouth."

Chiara started at that and looked at her former teacher. She had expected him to scold her for shooting the Old Kai, like he had when she punched Supreme Kai. Piccolo gave Chiara a small smile and a nod and she returned both. Chiara returned to staring down at the hole in the ground, a smile still on her face.


	48. Chapter 48: Finding Dende

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Hmm, I got a review for my last chapter saying Chiara's a Mary-Sue. Perhaps I was a bit hasty when I put in my summary that she isn't. Oh well, consider this a warning. Chiara may be a Mary-Sue.

_Chapter XLVIII: Finding Dende._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

"Hey, I just realized we're gonna be needing the dragon radar," Gohan said.

"Oh, I had it, but then I gave it to Piccolo," Trunks said. "Right?"

"Yes, that's right," Piccolo confirmed. "But I think it's in my other pants pocket. Only, it doesn't make a bit of difference, guys. Dende's gone, remember? The balls are inert."

"Does that mean they don't work?" Trunks asked.

Piccolo nodded slowly and Trunks and Goten looked crestfallen. If Dende was really gone, than all was lost. They would never be able to wish their loved ones back. Chiara frowned, had she just felt something?

"What if Dende isn't dead?" she said suddenly. "Maybe he escaped."

"How?" Piccolo asked.

Chiara shrugged. "I don't know, but I think I sense something."

Gohan apparently did also. "Chiara's right. Feel it? It's faint but it's still there."

"What?" Piccolo said, before concentrating on their surroundings. "Ah, you're right, Gohan. I sense him."

Goten smiled happily as he and Trunks focused as well. "I can too," he chirped.

"Yeah, me too," Trunks said.

The two boys laughed and Gohan said, "Great. What do you say we go track down Dende?" He turned serious. "Before our friend Majin Buu beats us to it."

"Yikes," Chiara said. "You're right, we better hurry."

She jumped off the cliff and flew off towards where they had sensed their young Namekian friend. Trunks and Goten were quick to follow her, while Gohan and Piccolo followed more slowly. Soon, however, they all joined up and searched together. Chiara, Gohan and Piccolo were flying ahead while Trunks and Goten trailed behind. Gohan suddenly focused on one area.

"What's up?" Piccolo asked. "Do you see something?"

"Yeah, there's a man…and a dog," Gohan said.

And so there was. An obviously dehydrated man with a small white dog beside him laboriously made his way through the desert.

"Oh, it's him, huh?" Trunks said as they watched. "We're not gonna help that guy, are we? He's a cheater and he lies a lot too."

Chiara turned to the two boys and with a soft smile on her face and said, "I don't suppose dressing up as Mighty Mask to be allowed to enter the adult tournament was cheating and lying, huh?"

Both boys turned beet red and stammered excuses as Chiara laughed gently.

Piccolo chuckled. "Regardless of his character, I think that he's paid his dues. Deep down he's a decent guy. I've been keeping tabs on the man lately."

"You have?" Chiara asked in disbelief. "That must have been boring."

Gohan chuckled at that. "Hey now, none of that. Let's go help the man."

Chiara shrugged. "Alright, I feel sorry for the puppy anyway."

They dove down, nearly giving the man a heart attack. Piccolo picked up Hercule by the back of his shirt, while Goten carried Bee. Hercule panicked for a short moment until he caught sight of Gohan.

"Hey, it's you," Hercule said. "Videl's friend."

"Doesn't he mean boyfriend?" Chiara's teasingly whispered at Gohan.

"Hey there, mr. S," Gohan greeted, completely ignoring Chiara.

"Hi, thanks for the lift," Hercule said uncertainly.

They flew on, still heading for where they had sensed Dende.

"There's still one thing that I can't quite figure out," Piccolo said.

"What's that?" Gohan asked.

"How Dende managed to survive," Piccolo said.

A thoughtful frown creased Chiara's forehead, that was a mystery.

"Buu had ample time to hunt him down," Piccolo continued. "When Buu gave us the slip it was quite some time before we managed to catch up with him again. So, even if Dende got away, it seems Buu would have found him."

"I see," Gohan said. "But you guys were fighting in the hyperbolic time chamber, weren't you? So, to you a good while passed before you got out, but on the outside that same amount of time would equate to a couple of minute, would it not?"

"Yes, that's it," Piccolo said. "It's obvious, why didn't I think of that?"

Chiara grinned. "My brother the scholar. He often comes up with things others didn't think of."

Gohan blushed a little at that. "Ah, I do not."

Piccolo, still caught up by his own perceived stupidity, dropped Hercule, who Trunks quickly caught again.

"Sorry, my friend got carried away," Trunks said to Hercule.

Hercule swallowed hard. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it, it was nothing," Trunks said.

Trunks, however, caught sight of Dende and proceded to drop Hercule himself in his excitement.

"Oh wauw, there he is," he cheered as Hercule went sailing towards the ground.

This time it was Chiara who caught him just in time.

"Please don't drop me again," Hercule pleaded. "I don't think my heart could take it."

Chiara chuckled. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm not as absent-minded as my friends. Though I would advise you to learn how to fly like Videl did, it doesn't do to be so dependent on other people."

Hercule said nothing, merely nodded rapidly.

"You guys," Goten cried, having seen Dende as well. "It's Dende."

Dende came running up to them all as they landed, waving his arms in greeting. "Hi, everyone."

"Dende," Piccolo said, a smile on his face as he placed his hands on the smaller Namek's shoulders.

"Hi, Piccolo," Dende said.

"You're alive, I don't know how you did it, but you did well, kid," Piccolo praised.

Trunks and Goten smiled happily. Chiara landed behind Dende, having put Hercule down near the two boys and the small dog.

"Thanks," Dende smiled. "But if it wasn't for mr. Popo I never would have escaped."

"How so?" Chiara asked and Dende turned to her.

"Buu came out of the time chamber through a small hole, he was in liquid form," Dende explained. "He turned everybody into chocolate but before he could do so, mr Popo threw me from the look-out, saving my life in the process."

"Brave Popo," Piccolo said. "Let's just make sure that his sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Chiara sat down next to Gohan on a rock and said, "Popo's not the only one who died. He's not the only one who must be avenged."

Piccolo looked at the small female Saiyan sitting there, dwarved by her brother next to her. Her face was neutral but her eyes spoke of the need for revenge.

"Buu will pay for all of their deaths," she said softly. "Whether we can wish them back or not."

Piccolo nodded slowly, telling himself to keep an eye on the demi Saiyan in case she became reckless in her need for vengeance.

He turned back to Dende and said, "You should be proud of yourself. You're a fine guardian, Dende."

"Thank you, Piccolo," Dende said.

Hercule, who was watching all of this with increasing confusion, said, "That scrawny, green Elf-boy, is he some kind of bodyguard or something?"

"You oaf," Trunks said. "He's no bodyguard, he's guardian of the Earth."

"Really?" Hercule asked. "Well, I'll be darned."

In the mean time, the others had told Dende that they needed the dragon radar.

"So, where's the radar now?" Dende asked.

"Piccolo's other pants," Gohan said jokingly and they all laughed.

The tension of the situation seemed to drain away, if only for a short moment, as they all shared a joke. There was a massive fight ahead of them, they knew, but maybe, just maybe, all would be well.


	49. Chapter 49: Absorbed

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Thanks to you all for your encouraging reviews, I really appreciate it. Chapter 49 is here, and Chapter 50 will be posted on Thursday. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Chapter XLIX: Absorbed._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

"WHAAAT?" Hercule screamed, his voice loud enough to be heard some distance away. "My sweet little Videl is dead?"

As he burst into tears, the others watched him sadly. Tears appeared in Chiara's eyes as she watched the broken father cry and Goten turned and buried his little face in her stomach, his tears soaking her shirt. She wrapped her arms around his small form and tenderly rubbed his back.

"I know, sweetie, it's okay," she whispered.

"My poor Videl," Hercule was crying. "How could Buu do that to her? Darn him, he was my friend."

He suddenly stopped crying and all but flew at Gohan.

"What's wrong with you?" he snapped at the surprised Saiyan. "Why didn't you protect my little girl, huh?" He grabbed Gohan by his shirt. "What kind of boyfriend are you, huh, pal?"

"Enough," a sharp voice cut through his rage.

He whirled around and looked at Chiara, who had been the one who cried out. Tears were still flowing down her face, Goten was still clutching her, but there was a fire in her eyes.

"Enough," she said again. "You are not the only one who lost someone. Our mother was killed too." She stopped for a second, taking a deep shuddering breath before continuing, "And as much as I wish I had been there to protect her, I know I would not have been able to. I would have been killed just as easily. So instead of recriminating myself, I'm going to focus on getting revenge, and when it's all said and done, we'll wish them all back. Fighting is the key. Not fighting eachother, but fighting Buu."

They all watched her as she wiped her face before she picked Goten up and held him tightly in her arms. She walked some distance away from the others, the two demi-Saiyans taking comfort in eachother.

"It's okay, little man," she said again.

Goten sniffled and drew back a little, looking his big sister in the eyes, his tears slowing a little.

"Did you really mean that, Chi?" Goten asked. "When you said that we'd get revenge and then wish mom back, did you mean it?"

Chiara smiled and nodded firmly. "I meant every word."

Suddenly, they all became aware of a powerlevel heading their way. They all tensed when they felt who it was.

"It's Buu, he's coming back," Trunks cried.

"That didn't take long," Gohan said grimly.

"What?" Hercule said. "Majin Buu's here?"

"It's him," Piccolo confirmed. "But why? Surely he doesn't want to fight Gohan. Unless he's managed to improve in the last hour."

None of them knew why Buu was there, but fact remained, he was heading their way.

"Alright, I'm gonna go see what he's up to," Gohan said, preparing to meet Buu head on. "Don't get sucked into the fight, you guys. Stay here."

Gohan took off, leaving the others behind. He landed some distance away and waited for Buu to get to him, a grim look on his face. The others watched as Buu landed in front of Gohan, Hercule included. He moved forward slightly, Bee tucked into his shirt. He gritted his teeth when he saw the pink monster.

"Hey, Majin Buu," he called out. "How dare you hurt my daughter? What's wrong with you? You promised not to kill anymore, remember?"

Buu laughed at Hercule's words.

"What?" Hercule said, a sad look on his face. "Don't you know who I am, Buu?"

"Wake up," Piccolo snapped. "The Buu you made friends with is gone."

"Huh?" Hercule said, before reaching for Bee. "Hey, it's Bee. You remember Bee, dontcha? This is the puppy you saved."

Little Bee enthusiastically wagged its tiny tail and Chiara couldn't help but think he was cute. Buu didn't agree, apparently, because he fired an energy beam at the both of them. Gohan cried out, moving to stop it but it was already heading for Hercule. When the beam struck, however, it didn't strike Hercule and Bee.

Buu frowned when he saw the spot he had shot at was now empty. He looked up and saw Hercule and his puppy suspended in mid-air. Bee was tucked underneath Chiara's right arm, while Hercule was hanging from her left by his shirt. Chiara looked at Hercule and shrugged.

"Hey, you tried," she said. "But maybe you should back off and let Gohan handle it from here."

Hercule nodded and Chiara put him down, handing Bee over after scratching the puppy behind his ears. Bee licked Chiara's hand and she smiled slightly before she joined Goten and Trunks, who were standing not far behind Gohan.

"What's he up to, Chi?" Goten asked his big sister. "His powerlevel hasn't changed, has it?"

Chiara shook her head. "No, it's still the same. I don't know what he's up to, but I know it can't be good."

"Hey, I bet he's bluffing," Trunks said, crossing his arms. "Ten to one he runs away again."

Buu merely smirked as he stood there, not moving, and very obviously up to something.

"Be careful, Gohan," Chiara called. "He's definitely up to something."

Buu grinned at Chiara at that and said, "Come on, little girl. I want to fight you now."

Chiara started at that. "Me?"

"No way," Gohan said. "That is not gonna happen. You're fighting me, Buu. You got it?"

"I'm not interested in fighting you, I want to fight her first," Buu said. "Then I'll take care of you, stupid boy."

"Sorry, pal," Gohan said. "But you're not the one making the rules around here. If you wanna fight someone than I'm your man."

Buu smirked, his eyes on Chiara again. "What's wrong, little one? Don't tell me you're scared to fight Buu."

Chiara scowled but stayed where she was. She was no fool, she wouldn't be baited into fighting someone she obviously couldn't beat. Buu, however, was insistent.

"You're acting like a coward," he went on. "I'm disappointed. I must have misjudged you."

"It's not gonna work, Buu," Chiara called. "You're fighting Gohan, whether you like it or not."

Buu, however, didn't seem at all upset by her refusal. He simply turned his attention to Goten and Trunks. The two young boys were far more susceptible to Buu's taunting and had fused into Gotenks before anyone could stop them. Gotenks went to fly at Buu but his path was blocked by Chiara.

"Get out of the way, Chi," Gotenks said.

"You two are not fighting Buu," Chiara said. "Gohan can handle things. Just leave it be."

"But Chi…" Gotenks whined.

"No buts, you are not letting him bait you," she insisted.

The two boys reluctantly backed off and went back to where they had been standing. Buu's deception hadn't worked and he might have been annoyed at that, were it not for the fact that it was never his intention to fight Chiara or Gotenks. They soon found out what his intention had been when three large globs of pink goo came leaping out of nowhere. One of them went straight for Piccolo, another went for both Goten and Trunks, while the last went for Chiara.

Chiara, through means of teleportation, escaped the goo. She then incinerated the glob before it could go for her again. Piccolo, Goten and Trunks were not quite as lucky. The goo enveloped them and then shot back to Buu, who was waiting for them with a grin on his face.


	50. Chapter 50: A Buu of a Different Kind

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: To DBZ Lover: Thanks for writing the great review. Not great because it was completely positive, because let's face it, it wasn't, lol, but great because it gave me a lot to think about. I appreciate you taking the time to write me a review, especially a long one, since you didn't need to bother, you could have just not read the story and left it at that. You had some pretty good points and I'd like to address them here.

You pointed out that I basically just stuck an OC in there and molded the canon characters around her. This is true and I had actually expected to receive criticism about this earlier. I think in any story where an OC is present, everything adjusts to that OC. In my case it was unavoidable but I can understand that that might be annoying from time to time.

You say a child of Goku is pure, their heart and soul clear of any evil thoughts or actions, but I created Chiara to be a lot like her father. Goku didn't become pure until he hit his head. His genes, however, are still those of a Saiyan. Cruelty, sarcasm and a huge temper are therefore carried over to his children. In my opinion Chiara is more like her father than Gohan or Goten ever were. Any kindness and fairness would realistically come from ChiChi, not from Goku.

The reason Gohan went a little overboard with his anger towards Sharpener is because of the nature of his relationship with Chiara. She's his twin, but not just that, she's his _Saiyan_ twin. I probably should have explained sooner that in my story a bond between Saiyan twins, even half-Saiyans, is stronger than any bond, except maybe those between mates. And, if that isn't convincing, just look at how Gohan reacted when Goku suggested having Videl kiss Old Kai.

About Gohan and Goten moving on from ChiChi's death and focusing on what was important. I personally always thought they moved on a little too easily. Even if they do know that they can be wished back, this is their mother they're talking about. I wanted to magnify the effects of ChiChi's death a little bit, instead of just saying that it happened and then moving on.

It was never my intention to have Chiara utterly hate Goku and perhaps I didn't do a good job showing that. What I wanted Chiara to display was a stubborn refusal to see the bigger picture and to see that Goku really was looking out for everybody. That's why she's the only one who feels that way. This stubborn refusal won't last forever, and in the chapters I'm writing now, she's already realizing that she was wrong.

Thanks again. Like I said you've given me a lot to think about and you've certainly taught me I still need to brush up on my writing skills, my explanations in particular. I hope you didn't mind reading such a long note, lol.

Note: To all of my reviewers: Thank you all so much for reviewing, it's always appreciated.

_Chapter L: A Buu of a Different Kind._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

The being that stood before them when the dust settled was far more powerful than it had any right to be. Buu now had the armor like shirt that Gotenks had worn on and his hands had changed as well, he now had human looking hands. Gohan and Chiara looked at him in horror, his powerlevel was beyond belief.

"So, what do you think of it?" Buu mocked. And the twins noticed in horror that his voice now closely resembled Piccolo's. "New clothes to match my figure, and a few new abilities as well."

He whipped his head tentacle into the ground, destroying a part of the area they were standing in.

"I suppose the sudden loss of your friends and family has left you speechless, Gohan," Buu said. "Hurry and drain your tears so we can fight."

Buu suddenly seemed to notice Chiara. A slight frown creased his forehead before it disappeared again.

"It's too bad I wasn't able to absorb you," he said to her. "But it doesn't really matter. I'm powerful enough to defeat you all as I am, and in the end you will become a part of me anyway."

"How could you do that to them?" Gohan cried as Buu landed in front of them. "They've been fair in this fight since the start."

"I'm not interested in fairness," Buu said. "I'm interested in the extinction of every living creature on this planet. A good fighter knows his mental and physical limitations, but a great fighter will figure a way around them. From the moment I felt your power, I knew I was beaten."

"So you ran," Chiara said.

Buu didn't look offended, he merely nodded. "And then I thought about something. If I could hatch a plan to absorb Piccolo, Gotenks and Chiara and their powers, then no force on this boring, pathetic planet would ever stand a chance against me again. Things didn't go according to plan as I hadn't counted on Chiara's teleportation, but in the end, that power too will be mine."

Gohan merely got into a fighting stance, positioning himself in front of his sister.

"You won't go near her," he vowed.

"Oh, but I beg to differ," Buu said mockingly. "You don't stand a chance against me on your own anymore. You'll need your sister's powers to help you. I'll be going near her plenty."

"As much as I hate to say it, he is right, Gohan," Chiara said softly. "We have to work together now. There's no other way."

Gohan closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, knowing that Chiara was right. He didn't stand a chance on his own anymore. All they could hope to do was fight Buu long enough for Gotenks to defuse and then maybe, they'd be able to beat him.

'_What was I thinking?' _Gohan ranted to himself. '_I knew he was up to something, and I did nothing. I should have fought him the second he showed up again.'_

A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his self-recriminating thoughts and he looked down to see his sister standing there, an understanding look on her face.

"I know it's tempting to blame yourself, bro," she said softly. "But first of all, this isn't your fault. And second, even if it was, placing blame isn't going to help us now. We just have to stick together and make this work."

Gohan smiled down at his sister and took a deep breath before nodding.

"Alright," Buu suddenly called out. "Enough of the mushy stuff. It's time to fight."

The horrible grin on Buu's face told the twins that he knew they were hopelessly outmatched, and they knew this was going to be a very difficult battle.

"You're not as smart as you think you are, Buu," Gohan called. "If you wanted the best you should have come after me. You just absorbed the wrong super saiyans, Buu, and if you're using Piccolo's brain, you know you've got thirty minutes until this new-found strength of yours defuses."

Chiara nodded in agreement, all they had to do was last thirty minutes and then Buu would weaken again. Buu, however, didn't seem at all worried. In fact, he laughed at them.

"I assure you it will be over before then," Buu said confidently. "And I didn't absorb you because I needed a punching bag. What's the point of having strength if there's nothing to hit? I kept you around because even without absorbing Chiara, I'm stronger than ever and I have to try it on someone. Now I get to try it on both of you."

"Sounds fine," Gohan said, a small smile on his face. "We're all yours. Let's do this."

Chiara nodded again, and both Sons crouched into a fighting stance.

"Alright," Buu said, readying himself as well. "But be warned, in my new super form, I have the body of Buu, the intensity of Gotenks and all the cunning of a Namek to drive the nails into your coffins."

Chiara scoffed. "Your body wasn't up to par the first time around. Gotenks' intensity is easily matched by Gohan and as smart as Piccolo is, we're both smarter."

"So I guess the only thing you have to worry about is if you're really stronger than us," Gohan added.

Buu smirked, beckoning them mockingly. "You know I'm going to kill the both of you."

"Let's hold off on the gravestones, Majin Buu," Gohan said.

'_Ready, Chi?' _he sent to his sister.

'_Absolutely, Gohan,' _Chiara sent back.

And in sync, they flew at Majin Buu, ready to fight to the finish. Like a well-oiled machine, they worked together to keep Buu down long enough for Gotenks' fusion to wear off. Buu had the strength advantage over Gohan, and Chiara certainly was no match for him, but Gohan was strong enough to keep Buu busy and Chiara's attacks consistently threw Buu off-balance, making many of his attacks useless.

When Gohan threw a blast at Buu and Buu went to counter it, Chiara's blast negated Buu's, letting Gohan's blast hit Buu. Slowly but surely, Buu was becoming furious. He became angry enough with Chiara's constant cheapshots to actually completely ignore Gohan and go after Chiara. This was a mistake by Buu as it allowed Gohan to attack him from behind, hitting him hard enough to send him careening into a mountain. He pulled himself from the resulting hole, his body scuffed, his temper foul. Chiara and Gohan landed nearby.

"That was fun, Gohan," Buu ground out, obviously still very angry. "Why don't we try it again?" His eyes flashed as they landed on Chiara. "Without your sister's interference this time."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Buu?" Chiara scoffed. "Well, you can just forget it."

Buu clenched his teeth as he looked at the small Saiyan and they could practically feel the hatred oozing from him. Buu took a moment to keep from shouting, struggling to regain his composure.

"It seems you are weaker than you thought," Buu finally said to Gohan. "Is your confidence dwindling so rapidly that you need your sister to help you?"

Gohan said nothing and Buu turned to Chiara.

"You are not strong enough to fight me, you are only in the way," Buu said.

"In _your_ way, Buu," Chiara pointed out. "And that's the way I like it."

"There's no shame in quitting," Buu said, acting as though she hadn't spoken. "I suggest you do so while you're ahead. You wouldn't want to get in Gohan's way."

"Your mindgames aren't going to work, Buu," Gohan finally spoke up. "We've been trained much better than that. Now let's go again."

Buu's eyes narrowed for a brief moment before he gave a curt nod. He suddenly disappeared from where he had been standing, only to reappear behind Chiara. Before she could react, he elbowed her in her back sending her spiralling towards the ground.

He suckerpunched Gohan – who had rushed up to them – sending him down, before following Chiara. His fist dug into her stomach, sending her to the ground at an even higher speed. She hit the mountainside, plowing a hole into it, and Buu sent blast after blast after her to make sure she stayed there. Gohan stopped Buu mid-blast, punching him down to the ground, shouting at him to leave his sister alone, but the damage had been done. The mountain Buu had sent Chiara into was nothing but a smoldering pile of rubble and Chiara wasn't answering Gohan's frantic calls through their link.

Buu picked himself up off the ground, grinning at a furious Gohan, and mocked, "_Now_ we'll go again."


	51. Chapter 51: Transformed Again

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Thanks to everybody who reviewed my last chapter. Your comments, long or short, are an inspiration and they do keep me going.

_Chapter LI: Transformed Again._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

Gohan's teeth and fists were clenched as he stared down at the mountain that held the still form of his sister. He wanted nothing more than to go down there and dig her out, but he knew Buu would never give him the time to do it and he couldn't give Buu the advantage. He'd kill them all if he did that. He turned to Buu, a furious look on his face.

"First my mother, then my little brother," Gohan ground out. "Now my twin. You won't get away with this, Buu. I will stop you."

"It seems I've heard you say that before," Buu said, still grinning. "It's getting rather old hearing that. Maybe you should try actually beating me, instead of just talking about it."

While Gohan flew at Buu in a rage, Dende had hurriedly made his way to where Chiara had been thrown down. He sifted through the heavy stones, frantically calling his friend's name. He didn't know exactly where she was and unless she made some kind of sound, he'd never find her.

"Chiara," he cried. "Say something, anything. Make some noise."

It was useless, there was no answer from a most likely unconscious Chiara. He had no choice but to look for her everywhere. Some stones simply couldn't be moved, so he tried to work around them, but even working as hard as he was, he wasn't getting anywhere.

On Supreme Kai's planet, Kibito, Supreme Kai, Old Kai and Goku were watching in horror as things went downhill for Gohan. His fury hadn't served him well. If anything, it made it more difficult to focus on beating Buu and Buu was taking full advantage of it. He was having a great time mocking Gohan, making him angrier and even more unfocused.

"No," Goku ground out as Gohan disappeared into the ground, tons of blasts following him. "This can't be happening."

"I-I can't sense Chiara anymore," Supreme Kai forced out, his face shocked. "Is she…?"

"Don't even think that. She's alive, they both are," Goku snapped, more quietly adding, "They have to be."

Back on Earth, Dende looked up from the heavy stones and saw that Hercule and Bee were watching him work.

"Why are you standing there?" Dende cried. "Help me find her. She could be suffocating."

Hercule started at that and ran forward, Bee joining him. While Hercule helped Dende move rocks, Bee started digging into the smaller rubble with his little paws, his nose working overtime. After a long while of digging, Bee started barking.

Dende and Hercule rushed to his side and saw that he had uncovered Chiara's hand. Dende checked her pulse and when he found it, they started digging again, this time fighting to uncover her enough for her to breathe. To their dismay, they found that there was a large boulder lying on her chest, a boulder they couldn't move, not even with the three of them.

"It's no use," Hercule said, breathing heavily. "We can't move it."

Bee, who had also been pushing at the boulder and was now panting, barked in agreement.

"We can't just leave it there," Dende cried. "I can't heal her until the boulder's gone. She'll die like this."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Hercule snapped at him.

Dende didn't answer, there was nothing they _could_ do, except wait for someone who was strong enough to move the boulder, though who they didn't know. Gohan was losing the battle against Buu and after Gohan, there was no one else.

And even if Gohan had been able to find the time, he and Buu were no longer fighting nearby, they had drifted off to much further down the valley and Dende could no longer call out to Gohan for help. Dende sat down and held Chiara's hand, feeling more helpless than he had ever felt in his entire life.

Gohan was still fighting Buu and he was hanging in there but he simply didn't have the power to beat him. He could only stall for time but thirty minutes was a long time and it seemed to take forever for it to pass. During his battle against Buu, Tien showed up to help and he _did_ help but the tide didn't truly turn until Goku showed up.

Goku cut Buu in half, creating enough time to explain to Gohan that they needed to fuse. He tossed the earring to where Gohan was sitting but he failed to catch it, sending it falling into the cracks of the ravaged ground. While they were looking for it, Gotenks defused and Buu became weaker.

Goku then decided that they didn't need to fuse anymore, that they could beat Buu without the fusion. This proved to be a monumental mistake as Buu then absorbed Gohan. Goku was shocked as he watched and felt Buu change, his top clothing now that of Gohan.

While Goku was left to keep Buu busy while pondering who to fuse with, a possible candidate for the fusion appeared near where Dende was still sitting in the rubble, holding Chiara's hand. Vegeta had been allowed to keep his body after performing his noble – if unsuccessful – deed, but had regardless of his deed been set to be sent to Hell. When it became apparent that he would be needed on the battlefield, however, he was sent back to Earth to help. He was now standing on an elevated rock platform, looking towards where Buu and Goku were.

"Huh? Is that…" Dende said, before crying, "It's Vegeta." He jumped to his feet. "Vegeta," he called, waving his arms around. "Vegeta, over here."

Vegeta scowled as he turned to the Namekian. "What do you want, green bean? I've got business to take care of."

"It's Chiara, she's hurt," Dende called.

"What?" Vegeta snapped. "So why aren't you healing her?"

"I can't, not until somebody moves the boulder on top of her," Dende called.

That was all Vegeta needed to hear. He was at Chiara's side in an instant, picking the boulder up and chucking it away like it was nothing. Chiara was in a terrible state, both her arms appeared to be broken and her chest had been compressed by the large boulder.

Vegeta turned to Dende and went to snap at him to heal her quickly but he didn't need to. Dende had already started. It took mere moments for the healing to be completed and after a few seconds, Chiara's eyes opened. She blinked blurrily in the bright sunlight. Was she in heaven?

She sat up slowly and became aware of someone kneeling next to her. When she realized it was her Senpai, she blinked again.

"They sent me to Hell?" she asked softly, staring at him.

"Don't be foolish, runt," Vegeta snapped, disguising his relief with anger. "You're alive."

"Then…so are you?" she asked hesitantly.

Vegeta nodded curtly and suddenly found himself with two arms full of half Saiyan – though she could have easily fit in one arm. Dende had expected Vegeta to throw Chiara off, but he didn't. Uncharacteristically, he allowed her to hug him, though he didn't hug her back. In fact, he wasn't moving at all, his eyes fixed on something straight ahead. When Dende looked in the same direction, he saw what Vegeta was staring at. Son Goku was standing there, and – also uncharacteristically – Son Goku was scowling.


	52. Chapter 52: When There Is No Other Way

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Apart from the usual violence, none.

_Chapter LII: When There Is No Other Way._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

Goku scowled at the sight of his only daughter hugging the man who had virtually taken over his role as her father over the last seven years. _'No right,' _was his first thought. _'He has no right.' _The thought was forced away when he remembered Buu and was reminded of what he was there for. Vegeta finally pried Chiara off of him and got up, Chiara joining him before she finally caught sight of her father standing there.

"Dad?" she said, shocked to see him. She was even more shocked to see he had no halo. "Dad, what happened to your halo? Are you alive now too?"

Goku started, looking up before saying, "Yeah, that's kind of a long story, but basically Old Kai gave me his own life, and…" He cut himself off when Buu came even closer, almost upon them.

"Darn, Majin Buu is coming," Goku said. "He must be getting very anxious to fight with me. Chi, you better get out of here while you still can."

"What?" Chiara cried. "No way, I'm staying right here."

"Chi, this is no time to argue with me," Goku said, a frown forming on his face. "You have to go now."

Chiara shook her head. "I have just as much right to be here as…" she began.

"Runt," Vegeta cut in. "Don't make me knock you out again. You are leaving."

Chiara turned frustrated eyes towards her Senpai, before turning back to her father. "Where's Gohan?"

Goku closed his eyes for a second and tried to think of a way to tell her.

"I can't sense him," Chiara said softly. "And he's not answering through our link."

"Chi…" Goku began, before trailing off.

"He's not dead," Chiara said quickly, almost rambling now. "I'd know if he was. He doesn't feel dead. Where is he?"

"Buu absorbed him," Goku said as gently as he could.

Chiara froze, and for a moment Goku feared she might faint. She didn't, but she felt close to it.

"Is that why Buu is so strong?" she all but whispered.

Goku nodded grimly and Chiara swallowed hard, trying to force the tears back. Goku watched her, wishing with all his heart that he could take her into his arms, hold her like a father should hold his child. But he knew she wouldn't let him.

"How can he be beaten now?" she said, still speaking in a near whisper. "Gohan was so strong, and Buu has his power now."

"There is a way," Goku said, before turning to Vegeta. "I've got a plan to beat Majin Buu and with your help, I know we can make it work, Vegeta." He held out a small earring to the other Saiyan, saying, "Put this on, right now. I know it sounds strange, but you have to do it. Please, hurry."

Vegeta gave the earring a critical look. "What for?"

"'Cause, once you put this on, you and I will be able to combine bodies," Goku explained.

"Fusion?" Vegeta questioned.

"That's right," Goku said. "Think about it. You and I joined in one body, we'll have amazing strength."

Vegeta chuckled. "Sorry, the offer's tempting, but I decline," he said.

"That's not an option," Goku insisted.

And indeed it wasn't. Buu was now so close, he could see them, and they could hear him.

"What's this?" Buu cried as he flew up. "Go on, try your precious fusion. It won't save you from me. Not now."

"Come on," Goku said to Vegeta. "This is no time for us to argue, we have to do this."

"Get away from me, Kakkarot," Vegeta snapped, pushing him away from him. "I'd rather lose my body than have anything to do with you."

"But…" Chiara began hesitantly. "If it's the only way, shouldn't you do it, Senpai?"

"It isn't the only way," Vegeta argued. "I can beat Buu." He then turned into a Super Saiyan.

"Listen to me, Vegeta, we've tried this," Goku said, referring to Vegeta's transformation. "You can't beat him like that."

"This is the only chance we have," Goku said, once again offering the earring to Vegeta.

"Really?" Vegeta sneered. "Why should I believe you?"

As Vegeta and Goku argued, Buu drew closer and fired a beam at the two Saiyans that neither saw coming. Chiara, however, did see it coming. She moved in front of them and deflected the beam, nearly breaking her arm doing it.

"Chi," Goku cried. "It's time for you to go."

Chiara clutched her arm and decided that this wasn't the time to argue with him. He and Vegeta needed to focus. She flew back and away from both of them as they turned to Buu. She wasn't leaving, but she'd stay out of the way. She flew down to the ground, some distance from where they were and watched.

Vegeta pushed Goku aside, powering up a blast. "Out of my way," he said.

Goku, having no choice but to join Vegeta, also turned into a Super Saiyan and powered up a blast of his own. His and Vegeta's blast joined with one of Buu's and became one. It careened into the ground, blowing up a large portion of the scenery. Chiara shielded her eyes, peeking over her arm when the explosion passed. Buu was now floating in front of them and tears rose in Chiara's eyes when she saw Buu wearing the same top as Gohan.

"My twin brother, my little brother, my mom," she whispered. "That unspeakable monster."

Buu chuckled when he saw Vegeta. Vegeta wasn't impressed by the sight of him, and chuckled as well.

"It's you," Buu said, looking at Vegeta. "I remember fighting with you before."

"You're not the one that I'm after, but I'll be glad to destroy you both," Buu shouted, powering up.

The two Saiyan before him got ready but didn't attack.

"Come on, why don't you attack me?" Buu questioned, his arms crossed over his chest. "It's two against one."

Vegeta seemed to think it was a good idea since he powered up but Goku didn't agree.

"Cool it, Vegeta," he cried. "You've got to understand that Buu's powers have increased a lot since you last fought. There's no way that you can win."

Vegeta, however, continued to disagree. He insisted on fighting Buu and wouldn't see that there was no way to beat him unless they fused. Nothing Goku said convinced him that it was necessary. Vegeta cited his pride as the main reason, saying he would never fuse with him. He would fight Buu himself.

However, Buu's power was too great, as Goku had predicted, and neither Saiyan could put a dent in him. The monstrous being threw them down with ease, sending them flying into the ground. Chiara ran over, helping them unearth themselves.

"Darn it," Goku cried. "I told you this was impossible. Look, if we don't do something soon, we'll be history. Along with this whole planet."

"Why do I care?" Vegeta snapped.

"Wake up," Goku shouted. "Majin Buu's eaten everyone we care about. Everyone is gone. Even Bulma."

Vegeta started at that, his face shocked.

"They've become a part of Buu," Goku continued. "They can't even die. I just thought the least we could do is put our old differences aside, just this once, and really work together. We owe that to our teammates. Our families, Vegeta. Our friends. Chiara is all we have left now, but she too will be absorbed if we don't do something soon."

At that, Vegeta looked at the girl he had trained since she was eleven years old. He blanched at the thought of her being absorbed. Though he had never said so, and probably never would, he considered her his own child, and letting her be absorbed was unacceptable. Yet absorbed she would be, she wouldn't stand a chance against Buu.

"Look, you've always talked about our Saiyan race. How we're the last of a mighty people. Well, it's time we accept we're starting a new race. One that can be just as strong, just as proud. But not if we're caught up in so much of our old birthrights to see what we have right in front of us. We've lost our old race, Vegeta. Let's not lose this one too."

"Kakkarot," Vegeta said, sounding very strained. "How do you know this fusion will be enough to stop him?"

"I don't know for sure," Goku admitted. "But I know it's the best chance we have of saving the Earth."

Vegeta hesitated until he became aware of Buu again.

"You two have lived long enough," Buu shouted, powering up a blast and flying at them.

Vegeta quickly reached out a hand to Goku. "Here, give it to me."

Goku's face brightened at that.

"What are you waiting for?" Vegeta snapped. "Give it now."

"You bet," Goku enthused, throwing it to him.

Vegeta caught it as Buu still approached at high speed.

"Hurry," Chiara whispered but Vegeta was already working on it.

"Come on," he grunted. "You said right ear, right?"

"That's right, Vegeta," Goku confirmed. "And one more thing, once we join our bodies we'll be stuck in that form…forever."

Vegeta started violently at that. "Imbecile, you tell me now?! Don't you think that's important information?" he snapped, fiddling with the earring. "Alright, it's on."

The earrings began to glow and Goku had enough time to say, "Great, thanks, Vegeta." before they were both sucked towards eachother, slamming into eachother and melting together. A bright flash of light ensued and both Buu, who stopped approaching, and Chiara shielded their eyes from it.

Note: Don't worry about Goku not saying a word about his belief that Vegeta is trying to take his place, that'll come later.


	53. Chapter 53: The Incredible Fighting

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None, except the usual violence.

Note: Another big thank you to all of you who reviewed, you're all helping me more than I could tell you. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and look for the next to be posted on Thursday as usual.

_Chapter LIII: The Incredible Fighting Candy._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

When the bright light disappeared, it revealed the fusion to end all fusions. Vegeta and Goku, joined in one body, stood there, their bearing arrogant, their face proud. Chiara looked at them wide-eyed, barely believing what she was seeing. Buu obviously couldn't believe it either as he was hovering nearby, stunned into silence, his face a mask of fear.

"Alright," the fusion enthused, the voice not sounding like Goku or Vegeta, but a combination.

Chiara slowly edged closer, her eyes still awed. There was no way Buu would beat them now, their powerlevel was huge.

"Dad? Senpai?" she whispered as she came closer still.

The fusion turned towards her and gave a small smirk. "It's time for you to step aside. I'll handle Buu."

Chiara nodded immediately. "I'll get out of the way," she said before flying up and away.

She landed next to Dende and Hercule, not far from where Buu and Vegito, as the fusion claimed to be called, now squared off. The fight between Buu and Vegito began. However, while Vegito's powerlevel was much larger than Buu's, the fusion seemed more interested in showing off than finishing Buu off.

"Come on, you two," Chiara yelled at them after a while of Vegito toying with Buu. "You can show off after you kill him."

"Please stop drawing attention to us," Hercule begged as he stood behind her.

Chiara ignored him, scowling up at the fusion.

"He's no match for us, there's nothing to worry about," Vegito said loudly and confidently.

"Why don't you prove it and finish him off already?" Chiara yelled back. "You're being a fool."

"You hold your tongue, young lady," Vegito yelled, suddenly sounding like Goku _and _Vegeta.

Chiara took a step back and Vegito went back to fighting Buu. He powered up to Super Saiyan, increasing his advantage over Buu, but still refused to take the fight seriously. Buu, however, was taking it seriously and he became so frustrated that he couldn't beat Vegito, that he tore a hole in the universe. Vegito's refusal to take the fight for what it was, a fight for the fate of the universe, eventually came at a price. Buu suddenly started mocking Vegito, taunting him to finish him off. Chiara frowned, why was he doing that?

"Be careful," she called. "He's up to something."

Vegito, however, seemed to respond only to Buu's mocking. He came closer as Buu gestured him to.

"Fine," Vegito said. "Let's end this thing right now."

Buu suddenly smirked. "I like your style. You're going to make great candy."

"What?" Chiara cried.

Vegito started and backed away slightly but he was too late. Buu flicked the antenna on his head and a beam hit Vegito before anyone could stop it. A bright light engulfed the fusion, the figure becoming distorted before exploding. Chiara shielded her eyes, before looking up as the smoke settled. What met her eyes was a single hard candy, floathing in the air. She cried out in shock, her cries joined by those of Dende and Hercule.

"Candy?" Hercule questioned.

"No," Dende cried. "Vegeta, Goku."

"No," Chiara shouted, torn between staying where she was and helping them. "This can't be."

Buu caught the candy as it came down. He laughed and tauntingly chanted, "Majin Buu. Big bad Buu."

Chiara continued to shake her head, not wanting to believe that this was happening. They were lost. Her father and her Senpai had lost the battle and now the Earth was doomed, along with the rest of the universe.

"Coffee flavored candy," Buu said. "That's my favorite. Shall I chew you to bits or lick you to death?" He laughed again.

Chiara clamped her hands over her ears, not able to stand hearing him laugh like that. All was lost. She started as Buu suddenly turned to her, a smirk on his face. Dende and Hercule leapt back.

"Look at the mighty warriors," he said to her, holding up the candy. "Now they're so sweet." He laughed sadistically. He sobered as he saw the scowl on Chiara's face. "Talk to me, buttercup. Chastise Majin Buu."

Chiara complied. "You monster," she yelled. "You won't get away with this, you won't."

"Truly, my little fighter?" he mocked, flying closer to her. "And who's going to stop me now?"

Buu flew down to the ground, landing right in front of a trembling but determined half Saiyan. Dende, Hercule and Bee scattered, leaving Chiara to stand there on her own. She looked up, having to crane her head back all the way to do so, defiantly staring into his eyes.

"You?" Buu continued. "Are you going to put up a mighty struggle now? Is it now your turn to fight Buu?"

Chiara swallowed hard before deciding she had no other option but to fight him. She wasn't about to run from him, no matter how scared she was, she would fight to the end. She swung at him with her left fist, only for him to catch it in his right hand. She then swung her right fist, pain shooting through it as she did so, only for him to stop it with his left forearm, his left hand still holding the candy. She tried to pull her left fist free but Buu held on, leaving her with only her right hand to use. She tried to punch him but he deflected each and every one. Finally, Buu made a move of his own, swinging his left fist back and planting it between her eyes. She went flying back, landing hard on the uneven ground.

"Give it up, Chiara," Buu bellowed. "You don't stand a chance. If you grovel, I _promise_ to make your death a quick one."

"I will never grovel," Chiara hissed, painfully pulling herself off the ground. "Never."

Buu frowned before nodding. He disappeared, only to reappear in front of her. He once again pulled his left fist back, but this time it didn't hit Chiara, this time it swung back and hit Buu straight in the face. Buu cried out in pain, unconsciously letting go of the candy. Instead of falling to the ground, however, the candy stayed in the air. It floated in between Buu, who was clutching his face, and Chiara, who was watching the candy in disbelief, hardly aware of the blood that flowed from her broken nose.

"You shouldn't hurt yourself like that," a high-pitched voice came from the candy.

"How is this possible?" Buu said, his voice quivering. "You can still speak."

"I can do more than that," the candy said, floating around to show it was true. "It seems I've retained all my powers." It then flew around as though doing punches and kicks.

Chiara had by then backed away from both Buu and the candy, making her way back to Dende, Bee and Hercule, all the while keeping her eyes on what was happening in front of her.

"I'm no ordinary candy," the candy said. "I'm a jawbreaker, the strongest piece of candy there is. Don't be a fool, Majin Buu, you can still surrender. It's not too late."

Buu would hear none of it, however, and chose to fight the candy. It turned out to be all but impossible for Buu to fight the candy, and he was forced to change Vegito back to be able to fight him. Vegito seemed startled to be turned back to 'normal'.

"Mommy?" he cried, obviously being more Goku than Vegeta. "Oh, it's me again." He turned to Buu and smirked. "Lost your appetite, huh? Sometimes too much candy can be a bad thing. It's not good for you."

Buu scowled at that, before suddenly smirking. "No, I didn't lose my appetite. I just decided I'm in the mood for something…different."

Vegito frowned, not quite understanding what he meant when they heard Dende call out.

"Chiara, look out, behind you," the young Namek cried.

Chiara whirled around and shrieked as she saw a large pink glob behind her, ready to absorb her. She quickly hit it with a blast and it disintegrated. She sighed and smiled.

"That was close," she said, wiping her forehead with her sleeve.

"Chiara," Vegito called this time and Chiara whirled around again.

The second she did, everything turned black and she couldn't breathe anymore. Something was covering her and she tried to fight it but it was useless.

"No," Vegito cried as Buu laughed.

Vegito swooped down and without thinking tried to pry the glob off of her. This only caused Vegito to get absorbed as well. Inside of Buu, a shield thrown up by Vegito protected him and Chiara from being

absorbed fully like the others had been. The fusion, for some reason, wore off when they were absorbed.


	54. Chapter 54: In the Belly of the Beast

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Nastiness inside of Buu. No violence.

Note: In the actual series, Vegeta and Goku are still fused right after they wind up inside Buu. In my story, the fusion is already gone.

_Chapter LIV: In the Belly of the Beast._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

The roaring laughter of Buu was all around as Vegeta and Goku landed inside Buu. Chiara was cradled in her father's arms, very much unconscious. Vegeta looked around in distaste.

"It doesn't get anymore disgusting than this," he ground out.

Goku looked around for a place to put Chiara down but there was nothing, only the disgusting 'ground'.

"I'll have to remember to tell her to take an extra long shower when all of this is over," he said as he gently put her down.

"Give me a break," Vegeta shouted up as Buu continued to laugh. "Fruitcake. It's bad enough to be in here but to have to endure that ridiculous laughter of his."

"On the bright side, the barrier did the trick," Goku quipped. "He hasn't been able to turn us into Buu goo. It's bizarre that we're no longer fused though. I was told that once you and I were joined together by these earrings we could never separate."

"Well then," Vegeta said. "I guess we lucked out." He removed the earring he was still wearing. "I'm me, you're you, Kakkarot. And that's just the way I like it."

"Hey, what are you doing?" Goku cried. "Put that back on. We'll probably fuse together again as soon as we leave Buu's body. But if we're not ready, we could blow our chance."

Vegeta, however, seemed to feel differently. He crushed the fusion earring.

Goku cried out. "Vegeta, have you lost your mind? Now there's no way for us to join bodies again. Why do you have to be like that? Isn't it worth you and I being stuck together if we can beat Buu?"

Vegeta scoffed. "No, I prefer to be the captain of my own ship. Besides, we can beat him anyway, Kakkarot."

"How do you know that, huh? Even if we manage to get Gohan and the others out, there's no guarantee that Buu is going to change back to the way he was before."

Vegeta smirked. "Well, I guess it's going to be very interesting to find out, isn't it?"

"Well…yeah…I mean no," Goku spluttered.

But Vegeta was no longer paying attention to him. His eyes were fixed on the still unmoving female Saiyan.

"Why isn't the runt waking up?" he questioned with a frown.

"I don't know," Goku said worriedly, making his way to her side.

-----

Chiara slowly came back to awareness, hearing her name being called, and found herself lying on something far too soft to be ordinary ground. She blinked several times before her blurry eyesight cleared and she saw her father and Vegeta hovering over her.

Goku looked very concerned and Vegeta looked very annoyed, though she could have sworn there was a flicker of relief in her Senpai's eyes when she opened hers. She sat up and looked around, her eyes widening when she realized where they were.

"We're inside Buu, aren't we?" she asked, her voice soft and awed.

"I'm afraid so," Goku said. "Are you okay?"

Chiara nodded absently and Goku helped her up. She blinked again as she looked at her father, then at her Senpai, and back again.

"How come you aren't fused anymore?" she asked. "I thought it was permanent."

"So did we," Goku said, scratching his head. "But I guess being in here made the fusion wear off."

Before Chiara could ask anything else, Vegeta cut in, "Come on, we need to find the others and get out of this place."

Chiara nodded. "Let's. And let's do it quickly. It reeks to high heaven in here."

And it really, really did. The smell only got worse as they started searching, seeming to permeate the entire area. To distract herself, she told her Senpai about what had happened while he was gone and he just about died laughing when she told him she had shot the Older Kai.

"I wasn't trying to be malicious or anything," Chiara said. "But he was boasting about being so strong, and then dad said, 'let's put him to the test', and so I did."

"And he went flying back like it was the blast of the century," Vegeta said, before laughing again.

Chiara chuckled as well. Her laughter faltered when in front of her, Vegeta stepped into something and he started getting sucked down.

"Senpai," she cried, moving forward.

"Stay back, runt," Vegeta ordered as he struggled against the substance.

But it was too late, she had walked too far and she was now being sucked down as well.

"Daddy," she cried to her father. "Help."

Not really thinking about the consequences, Goku responded to his daughter's plea, only to get sucked in as well.

"It's got me too," he shouted. "What the heck is it?"

Within seconds all three of them were being pulled under and found themselves falling from the air into another water-like liquid, this one holding floating objects that looked like rocks. Vegeta was the first to surface, Chiara and Goku quickly following. Vegeta climbed onto one of the rocks and extended a hand to Chiara, pulling her up and onto the same rock. Chiara frowned as her feet sank slightly into the rock.

"Sweet Dende," she cried when she realized. "It's cake. We're standing on cake."

"Well now we know where that disgusting smell is coming from," Vegeta said. "Look at this place, doesn't he eat anything but sweets? He's worse than a child, it's revolting. Not a single bit of meat at all."

And indeed, sweets seemed to be all Buu had ever eaten. There were pies and cakes as far as the eye could see, whole ones and half ones.

"Yeah, really," Chiara agreed. "I mean, I like cake too but this is ridiculous."

Goku, in the mean time, was still in the water. He found out that the water wasn't water, however, when he started smoking.

"What's that smoke?" Chiara asked, looking at her father.

"Hm?" Vegeta said before looking at Goku. He started and yelled, "Idiot, you're being digested. That smoke is coming from your roasting carcass, you moron."

Goku cried out and sprang from the stomach acid, landing on one of the other cakes. It wasn't until that moment that they realized the cakes they were on were actually moving towards what looked like a whirlpool.

"Uh oh," Chiara whispered, before saying more loudly, "Dad, Senpai. Is that what I think it is?"

"Great galaxy," Vegeta shouted. "If I know my anatomy, that leads straight to the southern exit."

"Oh, ew," was all Goku said as he joined them on 'their' cake.

"Ew? Ew?" Chiara repeated in disbelief. "Is that all you can say? We're going out his…backside."

"What are we going to do?" Vegeta asked.

"We're going to get sucked into that hole," Goku answered.

"No, Kakkarot, I mean how are we going to stop it?" Vegeta yelled.

"Hm, I think it's too late," Goku said.

He appeared to be right when their cake was surrounded by other cakes and they were nearly squashed by them.

"Man, some rescue operation this is," Goku quipped as they pushed against the other food.

"I'm not suffering the same fate as cream filling," Vegeta ground out.

The seemingly inevitable came closer and closer until they were all but in the whirlpool.

"No," Chiara cried, a scowl on her face. "We're not going down there."

"I'm afraid we are, Chi," Goku said.

"No," Chiara shouted again, this time raising her arm towards the opposing wall. "We're not."

"Chi, no," Goku shouted. "You can't…"

But it was too late, she fired a massive blast towards the wall, creating a large hole. They veered off, away from the whirlpool and went crashing through the hole. Stomach acid continued to follow them until Buu's regeneration filled the hole up again.

The three Saiyans blasted their way out of the pile of goo they had landed in and touched ground nearby. Goku turned to his daughter with a frown on his face.

"How could you do that?" he scolded. "If Majin Buu figures out that we're still alive, everything could be lost. You were careless to blow a hole like that."

"Oh I see," Vegeta cut in. "We should have just gone quietly down that little hole like mice and become part of Majin Buu's excretions. The runt was right to do what she did. She's like me, a true Saiyan…"

Goku's frown turned into a scowl at Vegeta's words, his powerlevel rising. _'Like him,' _Goku seethed. _'She's not like him.'_

"…and we're going through the front door," Vegeta continued. "Now, let's get a move on. The Earth is on a short fuse right now."

Vegeta moved on, putting distance between himself and the furious father. Chiara looked at her obviously angry father and sighed.

"I didn't mean to be careless," she said softly. "I'll be more careful next time."

Goku looked at his daughter and his anger disappeared, his scowl dissolving.

"It's okay, Chi," he said, smiling slightly. "You saved us, and that can't be a bad thing."

Chiara nodded, smiling too. "At least the smell isn't so bad here," she offered.

Goku chuckled and threw an arm around his daughter, relieved when she didn't throw him off. "It sure isn't. Now let's go find Vegeta."

There was a reason Chiara let him throw an arm around her, a reason she stayed behind to apologize, even if she didn't actually say the words. Much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to see that she had been wrong. That her father really did care. She had treated him miserably over the previous days and yet he never stopped caring, he never stopped worrying.

It hurt to know that she had spent seven years grousing over a man who was only looking out for them, and though she would probably never have to say so, she regretted putting her family through that as well. Now, however, was a good time to make it all right. That way, even if they died in their quest to defeat Majin Buu, her father would know that she didn't blame him anymore, and that she did love him very much.


	55. Chapter 55: A Hasty Exit

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: A long one this time, I'm sure that's okay, lol. I'm not too satisfied about this chapter to be honest, it seems a bit messy. Oh well, hope you enjoy anyway.

_Chapter LV: A Hasty Exit._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

Never would Chiara be able to see the colour neon-green again without associating it with very large white worms. Very disgusting white worms. It had been shortly after they started moving again when they had been beset by the worms. They had been sure they were in big trouble until it turned out that the worms they had encountered were just babies and their father apologized on their behalf. Goku seemed to have no problem with the worms, even becoming friends with them. Vegeta and Chiara, however, had to try very hard not to be sick. The worms did, however, point them in the direction of their family and friend.

"The green guy went off that way," one of the younger worms said, indicating a black hole leading up.

"Yeah," the other young worm said. "That's where the other ones went too."

The three Saiyans stared up and into the hole.

"Well, that looks inviting," Vegeta quipped.

"Still, at least now we know where to go," Chiara said.

But before they could go anywhere, water came rushing down one of the paths.

"What's going on?" Vegeta asked.

Soon they and the worms were swept away.

"It's potty-time," the father worm said.

"Hey you guys," Goku called to the worms. "What the heck is party-time? Where is this taking us?"

The wild ride continued, flinging them in all directions.

"Some party," Goku quipped.

"They said potty-time, not party-time," Vegeta said.

"Oh no, not again," Chiara cried.

"Looks like we're not gonna make the most graceful of exits," Goku cried.

"Not me," Vegeta cried as they went careening down along with the water.

"What do you propose we do?" Goku asked.

Vegeta powered up and flew up. Chiara was quick to follow his example and Goku followed after. They flew back up the path and into the direction the young worms had indicated. They wound up in Buu's head.

"So this is what it's like inside Majin Buu's head," Goku said, looking around. "Gohan and the others have to be in here because this is the only place we haven't looked."

Chiara nodded at his words just as they came to a fork in the road. They stopped and Vegeta turned to Goku.

"Okay, use your instincts, Kakkarot," he said. "Right or left?"

"Hmm, I'd have to say…left," Goku said.

"Good, then I'm going right," Vegeta said, before taking off in that direction.

"That's not very nice," Goku shouted.

"You follow your instincts, and I will follow mine," Vegeta said. "Runt, you go with him."

Recognizing that her Senpai needed time to himself after something as invasive as being fused with someone, Chiara nodded.

"Come on, dad," she said. "Let's go find our family and friends."

Goku nodded, sticking his tongue out at Vegeta retreating back before following his daughter. It wasn't long before they encountered what they believed was Gohan.

"Gohan," Goku cried excitedly. "It's you."

Chiara smiled and went to rush towards her twin when she stopped in her tracks and frowned. She couldn't feel him, he was standing right in front of her, but she couldn't feel him.

"Dad," she called out. "That's not Gohan."

"Of course it is," Goku argued. "Who else would it be?"

But Chiara was proven right when 'Gohan' flew at Goku and started fighting him.

"It's not him," Goku finally realized, dodging 'Gohan's' blows. "I can tell by the look in his eyes."

Chiara rolled her eyes before attacking Gohan from the side, helping her father beat him. Even though it wasn't Gohan, whatever it was was very strong and it took them all their strength to keep him away. Both Goku and Gohan charged a Kamehameha, blasting a hole in the wall nearby. The explosion hit Vegeta who was just beyond the wall. As Chiara flew at Gohan again, Goku waved at Vegeta.

"You did that?" Vegeta snapped at Goku.

"It was an accident," Goku defended, before he was attacked by Gohan again, who had thrown Chiara into the wall.

The fight went on, Goku and Chiara working together remarkably well for two people who had never fought together before. Soon, however, things went bad for all three Saiyans. They were now fighting together, but the combination of Gohan, the ridiculously powerful Gotenks and Piccolo was too much. Just as they were about to be finished off, however, Gohan turned into cake.

"He's cake," Goku cried.

"Toast, Kakkarot," Vegeta corrected. "He's toast."

"No, he's really cake," Goku said.

"I see," Vegeta said as Piccolo turned into a chocolate cupcake. "Chocolate."

"No, strawberry," Goku said.

"Cupcakes?" Vegeta questioned.

"No, poundcake," Goku said.

"Are you two gonna contemplate Buu's memories all day, or are we gonna get going?" a voice called.

The two Saiyans looked up and saw Chiara standing on a high rise, her body in the direction they would be heading, her head turned to them.

Vegeta smirked. "Let's go," he said, before flying up to Chiara.

They made their way deeper into Buu's head, having to climb through thick sticky strands.

"He's got cobwebs in his head," Vegeta said, half-disbelievingly.

"That's about all that's up here," Goku said. "Where could they have gone?"

They soon found out when they came upon pods. Pods that contained their family and friends.

"Are they alright?" Vegeta questioned.

"Yeah, they're alright," Goku said. "Considering where they are."

Chiara hovered in front of the pods, first checking on Gohan, then on Goten. She smiled slightly. Everything would be fine, they had found their loved ones.

The relief of finding their loved ones turned out to be short lived. Buu had finally figured out that they were still alive. He sent them a vision of himself to fight them inside of him and it looked as though they were well and truly done for. Things changed when Vegeta found another pod, this one containing the older version of Buu and ripped it loose from its foundation. The vision Buu had sent them melted into the ground as the three Saiyans watched.

"Yeah," Chiara cried, punching the air. "That's the way it's done."

"Don't cheer too soon, Chi. He might resurface again," Goku pointed out. "He's always managed to do it before."

"Rest easy, Kakkarot," Vegeta said. "That Buu is gone for good."

"Guys," Chiara said, looking around. "I think we'd better vamoose."

Vegeta and Goku looked around as well and quickly agreed. Their surroundings were beginning to collapse and it was time to check out.

"Grab a pod and run for it," Vegeta ordered, grabbing hold of Trunks' and Piccolo's.

Goku grabbed Gohan's pod, while Chiara grabbed Goten's. They flew at high speed through Buu's body.

"Hey, which was is out?" Goku asked as they flew.

"Who knows?" Vegeta said.

They flew as fast as possible but there was no sign of an exit.

"Either I'm hallucinating or this whole place is changing," Goku said.

"Yes, Buu's body is morphing," Vegeta said.

"We better get out soon or we're done for," Chiara shouted. "I don't know what he's turning into but it can't be anything good."

As they flew up and hopefully towards an exit, the temperature went up dramatically.

"Hey, why is it suddenly burning up in this place?" Goku asked, his face turning red. "Feels like we're inside a volcano."

They arrived at an area filled with holes. Steam was coming out of the walls and it was getting even hotter.

"What is happening?" Vegeta questioned. "Is he exploding?"

Then suddenly it came to Chiara. "Of course, his blow holes."

Vegeta and Goku looked at her as though she'd gone crazy.

"Are you alright, Chi?" Goku asked. "Is the heat getting to you?"

Chiara sighed exasperatedly. "Don't be silly. Don't you remember? Buu blows off steam whenever he gets angry, that's what this is, we're near his blow holes."

Just as Chiara said that, a huge blast of steam came flying out of the ground, shooting through the ceiling.

"Of course," Vegeta said. "That's our way out. Let's go."

They flew through the holes in the ceiling, towards what they hopes was daylight. As they were approaching the hole, however, it suddenly started to close.

"No," Chiara cried.

"Come on," Vegeta yelled, speeding up.

But they were too late, by the time they got there, the hole was closed.

"You gotta be kidding me," Vegeta spat.

"Man, we almost had it," Goku complained.

They waited for the hole to open again but nothing happened.

"Open sesame," Goku yelled at it.

Vegeta turned to Goku, giving him a long-suffering look, before turning away again. "Genius."

"We'll have to wait for another steam stream," Chiara said, holding Goten's pod tightly. "I'm sure another one will come soon."

"Even if it does come, we'll be scorched by it," Goku said grimly. "I've got an idea though." He turned to Chiara and gave her Gohan's pod. "Hold onto this."

She took the pod and along with Vegeta moved aside to let Goku do whatever he was planning.

Goku cupped his hands and extended them in front of him. "Alright, here we go."

A stream of steam rose from the depths and Goku prepared himself.

"Ready?" he asked Vegeta and Chiara.

"It's not open yet," Vegeta said, referring to the hole. A moment passed before he cried, "Now, it's open."

Goku responded, sending a blast at the steam. The steam was stopped in its tracks, leaving Vegeta, Goku and Chiara with enough time to exit through the blowhole. They made it out just before they could get hit by the boiling steam. Once out, they were quickly returned to their original size along with Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Piccolo.

"Look, guys, people popcorn," Goku joked.

"What is he on?" Vegeta grumbled as Chiara grinned.

She caught Goten as he came falling down while Goku caught Gohan and Vegeta caught Piccolo and Trunks.

"Spectacular," Goku enthused. "Fresh air and sunshine, wauw."

"That was a disgusting experience," Vegeta groused.

"Aw, it wasn't that bad," Goku said.

"Speak for yourself," Vegeta said.

Majin Buu, in the mean time, was still standing on top of the hill. Vegeta, Goku and Chiara looked at him.

"Let's find a safe place to drop these guys," Vegeta said, referring to their unconscious cargo. "We still have some unfinished business."

"Right," Goku agreed.

They went to drop them off but before they could do so, there was a major change in Buu's powerlevel and they quickly went to check it out. Buu was changing, his body getting bigger by the second. When he had finished changing, however, he wasn't bigger. If anything, he was smaller. Goku, Vegeta and Chiara stared in disbelief. Vegeta suddenly laughed.

"He's totally puny," he sneered. "He shrunk, and you were so worried." The last was said to Goku.

"Ha," Goku said. "You weren't worried, huh? You had white knuckles and you know it."

Chiara chuckled at that. They had all been worried, but now it seemed, there was nothing to worry about.


	56. Chapter 56: The End of the Planet Earth

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: My inspiration is waning a bit I think. I'll have to work extra hard on my next few chapters to make them interesting. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Chapter LVI: The End of the Planet Earth._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

Goku, Vegeta and Chiara stared up at Buu as he stood on the hill, not quite as confident as they had been before. It was still the same small Buu but perhaps they had been a bit hasty in their assumption that that meant he was weak.

"It's hard to tell if he's stronger now or weaker," Vegeta said.

"First things first, let's find a safe place to put these guys," Goku said, referring to their friends and family.

"Right," Vegeta said and they flew down to do so.

Chiara carefully placed Goten on the ground in the small valley they had found. "There you go, little man."

"They did well to stay alive," Vegeta said, looking down at his son. "That was a feat in and of itself."

"Yeah, that's for sure," Goku agreed.

"Now let's go make sure they didn't hang in there for nothing," Chiara said.

Vegeta and Goku both nodded, but before they could go back to where they had left Buu, his powerlevel disappeared and reappeared again somewhere else. He did this several times.

"Uh oh," Goku said. "He's on the move."

"What is he doing?" Chiara asked. "Is he testing his new body?"

They didn't answer her, simply because they didn't know. When Buu stopped moving around, he reappeared in the same spot he had been in before. The three Saiyans flew up and hovered behind Buu, waiting for him to make his move.

What he did, however, wasn't something they saw coming. He started screaming. The entire planet shook, the sky turned dark and lightning flashed as his screams filled the air, and all the z-fighters could do was cover their ears and wait for him to stop.

"Wauw, that's loud," Goku quipped.

"I think my ears are bleeding," Chiara added.

"Will someone shut him up?" Vegeta yelled over Buu's screams.

But there was no need. Just as suddenly as Buu had started screaming, he stopped again. Inactivity obviously wasn't his thing, however, since he immediately aimed his arm downward and fired a massive blast, a blast that was quickly countered by the combined blast of Vegeta and Goku.

"Wow, he's mad," Goku said. "That blast had enough power to destroy the entire planet." He turned to Vegeta and said, "Nice shot, man."

"What a fool," Vegeta spat, referring to Buu. "Does he want to die too?"

"He was probably planning on getting blown to bits and then reforming again," Goku said.

"Hey, Buu," Vegeta shouted. "It's your business if you want to blow up the planet, but fight us first, you little coward."

Buu finally turned his attention to the three fighters behind him, letting out a small annoyed sound.

Vegeta chuckled. "Gifted speaker," he mocked.

Buu chuckled, before raising his arm above his head and starting the blast to end all blasts.

"No, no, that can't be meant for us," Goku cried. "That's way too much energy. It's enough to blow up the planet ten times."

"What are we going to do?" Chiara asked desperately. "We can't just let him blow the planet up."

"We…we can't stop that," Goku said as they stared at the still growing blast. He cried out to Buu, "No, Buu, why? Why are you doing this?" But there was no response. "There'll be nothing," Goku continued. "Nothing left at all. Please, Buu."

Again there was no answer, except a sadistic smirk before he threw the massive ball their way.

"No," Chiara cried.

"Come on," Goku said to Vegeta and Chiara. "We grab the boys and use instant transmission."

"You use instant transmission, I can teleport," Chiara said, before flying down at full speed.

Vegeta and Goku quickly followed her. As they flew, desperately trying to stay ahead of the Earth ending blast, Goku caught sight of Dende, Hercule and Bee. He grabbed hold of them as he passed. They rushed to where they had left their friends and family, but the blast was too fast.

When the fusion of Kibito and Supreme Kai appeared before them, they had only seconds left and they had no choice but to go without their family and friends. Chiara flew downward, hoping to grab at least one of them before she had to teleport out of there. She was stopped when Vegeta grabbed hold of her wrist.

"No, Senpai, let go, I can make it," she shouted, trying to pull out of his grip. "I can make it."

But Vegeta wouldn't let go. He held onto her as they flew at KibitoKai. Goku grabbed hold of KibitoKai's extended hand while Vegeta placed a hand on Goku's shoulder, and they teleported out of there in the nick of time. The very second they appeared on the Kai planet, Chiara screamed and dropped to her knees.

"Chi," Goku cried, rushing to her side.

He kneeled down next to her and cradled her while she whimpered and cried. Then suddenly she froze, all sound ceasing, and passed out.

"Chi?" Goku cried, shaking her gently. "Chiara?"

KibitoKai joined him at Chiara's side and said, "I can heal her."

"No," Vegeta cut in from where he stood behind them. "You can't."

"I can try," KibitoKai argued, looking back at Vegeta.

"It won't do any good, she's not hurt physically," Vegeta said.

Goku, who was cradling Chiara, look slightly confused at that and so Vegeta explained.

"You know about the mental link between the runt and her twin, don't you?" Vegeta asked Goku. Goku nodded and Vegeta continued, "With Saiyans, the link between twins is one of the strongest bonds in existence. In some ways it is second to the one between mates. In other ways, there is nothing stronger. When Gohan died, a vital part of the runt died as well."

Goku looked stunned for a moment before he remembered something. On Namek, when Chiara had been killed, Gohan had nearly lost his mind.

"Her will to live will be the first thing to go," Vegeta continued. "Her sanity will be second. Her initial fury will be directed at me, since I'm the one who stopped her from trying to get to them. Once that's worn off, we'll have to keep an extra close eye on her. Once her will to live is gone, she will become reckless."


	57. Chapter 57: The Emptiness of Loss

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: This chapter is probably as close to dark as my story has ever gotten. So, consider that a warning.

Note: Okay, so the next few chapters pretty much rush through the entire story up until the moment the Spirit Bomb is formed, forgive me for that. My only excuse is that this is the way my inspiration had me write it…or something. To make up for it, I've made this a long chapter. Well, longer anyway.

_Chapter LVII: The Emptiness of Loss._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

First there was darkness. Then there was awareness. And with awareness came emptiness. An emptiness that hurt like nothing she had ever felt before. Her eyelids seemed twice as heavy as they should have been and she had to struggle to be able to open her eyes.

She was on the ground, on grass, but where? She coughed as she rolled over and tried to see her surroundings, but as she rolled over her view was blocked by a large body.

"Chi," someone enthused.

Why did they sound so happy? How could they be happy when there was much emptiness? It took several seconds before she realized the emptiness was in her, not anywhere else. She looked up at the person who had chirped her name and blurrily focused on his face. Her father.

She wanted to smile, but couldn't. She wanted to speak, but couldn't. It hurt, everything hurt. Why was she hurting? She didn't notice as her father helped her sit up, she didn't notice that he had to hold her up or she would have fallen down again. She was trying to remember what had happened.

Buu. They were inside Buu. No, that was before. Buu was on Earth and he started screaming. But then what? It suddenly clicked. The Earth was gone. Buu had blown it up. She got up, brushing her father's helping hands aside without thinking about it and turned to the others, locking eyes with one of them.

"You," she said to Vegeta, such hatred in her voice that all but Vegeta took a step back. "You…"

It was all she could say, it was all her pain would allow her to utter. He had stopped her. She could have gotten to them, she knew she could have. But he had stopped her. She couldn't tell him, it hurt too much, but she could show him.

Vegeta had been expecting her hatred, he was ready for it. That didn't mean it didn't hurt to see her so hateful of him, it just meant that he understood. He didn't fight back when she flew at him, merely deflected her blows. She was strong and she was fast, but her loss had made her weaker, her tears were obscuring her sight and her despair was too great.

She stopped fighting him and backed away from him before collapsing to her knees, tears now freely streaming down her cheeks. She slumped forward, supporting her weight on her arms, wheezing and whimpering as the pain in her heart grew.

"Gohan," she sobbed, her hands digging into the Earth beneath her. "Gohan."

Vegeta, Dende, Hercule, Bee, KibitoKai and Old Kai watched as Goku stepped forward, kneeling next to his daughter before gathering her in his arms, comforting her as best as he could.

Tears ran down Dende's face as he watched his heart-broken friend weep in the arms of her father. Bee whined in sadness while Hercule petted him soothingly. Older Kai and KibitoKai watched sympathetically.

Vegeta turned away from them all, away from the evidence of the girl's pain. He had done the right thing and if the situation called for it, he'd do it again. He suspected that the runt knew he had done what he had to do and that her anger wasn't really aimed at him, just at the world.

It hurt to see her in pain and that was why he had turned away. They didn't need to see that it ate at him. They didn't need to know that he would do anything to help her and that it bothered him that he couldn't do anything worthwhile for her. They certainly didn't need to know that he considered her his own child and that he always would.

Some time later, Chiara's tears had stopped. There was no clenching around her heart anymore, there were no unstoppable tears, only emptiness. Her heart felt like it had a hole in it, her soul felt perforated. Buu would pay. She nodded to herself as she stood leaning on the tree on Kai's planet. Yes, he would.

She didn't see her father and Senpai keeping an eye on her, she didn't see their worried glances. Buu was now rampaging across the Universe, destroying planets as he went. Chiara kept a close eye on his powerlevel and when he suddenly appeared on a planet near Kai's planet, she prepared to teleport to that planet. She would make Buu pay. She barely felt the blow that knocked her unconscious.

Goku caught her before she hit the ground, aiming a glare at Vegeta, who was lowering his hand.

"What did you do that for, Vegeta?" Goku asked angrily.

Vegeta folded his arms over his chest, his face annoyed at Goku's naïve inquiry. "Why do you think I did that, Kakkarot? She was going to teleport to the nearest planet to face Buu. If she had, she would have been blown up along with the planet."

Goku blanched in realization, he could have lost his daughter as well. Temporary or not, the thought of losing her after already losing Gohan, Goten and ChiChi, was terrifying.

"Keep an eye on her," Vegeta said to Dende, who was standing nearby. "If it looks like she's waking up, let us know." Dende nodded and Vegeta turned to Goku. "Come on, Kakkarot."

Goku gently placed Chiara down on the ground, in the shadow of the tree.

"There you go, sweetheart," he whispered, stroking a lock of her hair from her forehead before following Vegeta. "What are we going to do?"

"Buu's destroyed enough, it's time we finish him once and for all," Vegeta answered.

"Right," Goku agreed. "So, we're going to go find him?"

"No, we call him to us," Vegeta said.

-----

When consciousness returned to Chiara, her mind was no longer what it had been. While she had been unconscious, the insanity that had been creeping up on her since Gohan had died had fully set in and when she sat up, the only thing that registered when it came to her surroundings was that Buu was there. Buu was there and she would make him pay. She flew up and headed for the pink monster at full speed.

-----

Vegeta had been fighting Buu by himself for a while now. Not because he felt he could beat him but because Goku needed time to recuperate. He wasn't doing very well, Buu being much stronger, and he knew there just wasn't any chance that he could beat the monster.

He was knocked down again, landing near to where Goku was slumped down. Goku threw words of encouragement his way but it was hopeless. No words would make him strong enough to beat the monster. Buu joined him, wrapping his antennae around Vegeta's throat and strangling him. Vegeta gasped and choked, desperately trying to remove the appendage from his windpipe to get some air.

To say he was surprised when he was suddenly released and facing the back of his student of seven years would be an understatement. He heard her father cry her name but the girl didn't respond to him, just kept pounding at Buu, who looked as startled as Vegeta and Goku must have.

Vegeta and Goku watched in astonishment as Chiara fought Buu, doing very well for herself. It was clear that she for some reason was much stronger than she should have been.

"What power," Vegeta breathed.

"She wasn't that strong last time we saw her," Goku added.

Vegeta shook his head, slowly walking closer to the battle, his eyes fixed on Chiara. The answer as to where her power came from was delivered when Vegeta saw her eyes. He took a startled step back.

"Her eyes," he cried. "Kakkarot, look at her eyes."

Goku complied, crying out when he saw soulless insanity in them. "Dende," he shouted.

_'So that's what insanity looks like,' _Vegeta thought to himself.

"What happened to her?" Goku cried.

"I told you what the brat's death would do, Kakkarot," Vegeta said. "First her will to live, than her sanity." Vegeta's shoulders slumped when he realized something. "And because she was unconscious, she had no way of fighting it."

They turned their attention to the still fighting Chiara and Buu. Chiara's mind still held nothing more than the desire for revenge. There was no awareness of her surroundings, no knowledge of who she once was, only that the being in front of her had to die.

"She's doing great," Goku exclaimed happily. "She could actually beat him."

"Yes, but who's to say she'll stop at Buu?" Vegeta pointed out. "Who's to say she won't kill Buu and then move on to us?"

"No, she won't do that," Goku denied. "Not Chiara."

"Wake up, Kakkarot," Vegeta snapped. "It's the same situation as when she was taken over by Babidi. It's not really the runt anymore. All she cares for now is revenge, but what happens when she gets it?"

"Dende, she could destroy the whole universe in Buu's place," Goku cried.

Their concerns, however, were for nothing. As powerful as Chiara had become, she just wasn't powerful enough to finish Buu off. She fought hard and long, her insanity and burning desire for revenge spurring her on but no energy blast could kill Buu, his regeneration technique allowing him to reform within seconds.

Chiara's tenacity kept her coming back over and over until she was thrown headfirst into one of the surrounding mountains. For a long while, Chiara lay in the rubble of the mountain. Pain tried to wrestle through the insanity but was quickly forced back. Nothing mattered, only revenge.

She pulled herself out of the mountainside and searched for Buu. She found him some distance away, fighting what appeared to be a bigger version of himself. The presence of the other form of Buu didn't register with Chiara, however, she saw only the Buu she had been looking for.

She flew at him at full speed, catching him off guard again. Her punches and kicks still did little to no damage in the end because of his regeneration but, though Chiara didn't realize this, she was buying Goku valuable time. Goku was recovering from the beating he had taken and the time Chiara spent fighting Buu was helping a great deal. Vegeta watched Chiara and Good Buu fight Buu, his face tense.

"The runt is doing good, but she won't last forever," he said to Goku, who was still trying to regain his strength. "If this lasts much longer, she will fully succumb to the madness and her focus will shift from just Buu to anyone in her path. If that happens…" he trailed off.

Goku nodded shortly. He knew what would happen if he didn't power up soon. The universe and everything in it would be lost forever. No matter how hard he tried, however, nothing was happening. He had been trying to summon his strength for a while now and it just wouldn't work.

When he told Vegeta so and why he thought this was, Vegeta yelled at him. It seemed Vegeta had a plan of his own, though, since he then told Dende and KibitoKai to go to New Namek and wish the Earth back. It soon became apparent that Vegeta wanted Goku to form the Spirit Bomb.

Dende and KibitoKai complied, wishing the Earth and its inhabitants back, including Gohan. Chiara, who was still fighting Buu along with the good form of the same being, fell out of the sky when her insanity faded so suddenly that she lost consciousness. Vegeta just barely caught her before she hit the ground.

When she woke up the first thing she became aware of was the absence of despair. She remembered how the pain had faded the first time and though her memories of her 'insane period' were vague, she knew she had pretty much lost it.

Now, however, the pain and despair wasn't there, nor did she feel insane. She felt…whole again. She _was_ whole again. She smiled slightly as she sat up, probing her mental link to see if her brother was there. Tears rose in her eyes when there was a response. Her brother was far away, but he was there.

She got up, dusting her clothes off as she looked around. Her father was standing nearby, his arms in the air as he summoned the needed energy for the Spirit Bomb, her Senpai and Good Buu were up in the air fighting the evil Buu while Hercule and Bee hid nearby.

_'Right,' _she thought determinedly. _'Time to do something productive.'_

She flew up, flying to where Buu was being fought and joined in the fight.


	58. Chapter 58: The Destruction of the Evil

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Again, I apologize for rushing, but hey, (insert good excuse here). So, having said that, lol, enjoy!

_Chapter LVIII: The Destruction of the Evil Buu._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

The people of Earth were a frustrating people. On the one hand they wanted nothing more than to be saved, on the other they refused to do anything to help themselves. Not even something as simple as raising their hands in the air. Okay, so it was a very unusual request, but suggesting that they were trying to steal their souls was ridiculous.

"Do they really think that?" Chiara asked Vegeta. "Or are they just making up excuses so they won't have to actually do something for a change?"

Vegeta, who was just as annoyed as she was, merely grunted before once again requesting the people of Earth to give their energy. Another attempt did nothing, however, and it wasn't until Hercule, their perceived hero, spoke up that they actually donated their energy.

Good Buu had been knocked out and Vegeta and Chiara were beaten quite badly in their attempt to keep Buu away from Goku, but it mattered little. With the last of the energy of Earth given, the Spirit Bomb was complete and it was magnificent.

"Throw it, dad," Chiara cried hoarsely, from where she was slumped on the ground. "Kill that monster."

Goku nodded in determination before getting ready to toss the giant Spirit Bomb at Buu. He stopped when he realized Vegeta was in the way.

"Vegeta, move out of the way," he shouted.

"Kakkarot, what do you think I'm doing?" Vegeta spat back. "I can't."

"You got to be kidding," Goku cried. "Vegeta, what are you saying? You got to get out of there."

But Vegeta didn't have the energy. Chiara, who had heard, tried to help him but Buu way-laid her and she ended up having to fight him again. While she tried to fend Buu off, Vegeta was still trying to get out of the way since Goku refused to throw the Spirit Bomb until they were all out of the way.

Buu, sensing that Goku wouldn't throw the large blast unless Chiara and Vegeta were out of the way, started firing blasts at Goku and Chiara was hard-pressed to keep them away from him. Kid fired a massive blast and it headed straight for Chiara, who hovered in front of Goku. It took just about every scrap of energy she had left to stop the blast and when it went crashing into the ground only for Buu to form another one, Chiara knew that all was lost.

The blast was never fired in their direction, however, as Good Buu came crashing into Buu, sending him sprawling to the ground and the blast flying into a mountain.

"Get him," Good Buu yelled at Hercule.

"Huh? But you already got him," Hercule said, until he realized Good Buu meant Vegeta. "Oh, right."

Hercule rushed to Vegeta, slinging him over his shoulder before making a run for it. Chiara quickly made herself scarce as well while Good Buu kept Buu busy until Buu sent him flying.

"Hey, you," Hercule yelled up at Goku as he ran. "What are you waiting for? It's now or never."

"Way to go, champ," Goku yelled back, referring to him getting Vegeta. "You really are a hero." He then turned his attention to Buu. "This is for you, Majin Buu. It's from the people of Earth. Spirit Bomb."

And with those last two words, he tossed the bomb at Buu. Must to everyone's distress, however, Buu caught it and started pushing it back towards Goku.

"No, impossible," Chiara cried.

Good Buu was knocked out and Vegeta was severely beaten up, so Chiara and Goku were the only ones left. Goku was pushing as hard as he could but he was losing strength rapidly. Chiara flew up and tried to help him but she was weakening fast.

"I can't push anymore," Chiara gasped, barely able to lift her arms.

"You have to, Chi, we both have to," Goku cried, still pushing the Spirit Bomb.

Chiara's exhaustion had caused her to drop down, putting her at eye level with Buu. She moved to go up to start pushing the Spirit Bomb again when she caught sight of Buu and locked eyes with him. In his eyes, she saw madness, in his eyes she saw evil, but she saw something else as well. She saw her mother.

Chiara was momentarily confused until she saw that her mother was yelling at the bigger, thin version of Buu on Dende's look-out. She watched in horror as Buu casually turned her into an egg and then squashed her. She had known, of course, that her mother had been killed by Buu, but never had she anticipated that she would be forced to see it. She watched her mother die, she watched Buu grin at her horror, and something inside her snapped.

She started screaming, the image of her mother being squashed repeating in her mind over and over again, until she completely lost control and flew at Buu, who was now gawking at her.

"You killed my mother," she shouted, the air around her crackling. "You will suffer for that."

Buu, in an effort to defend himself from her onslaught, let go of the Spirit Bomb. Chiara was like a woman possessed as she attacked Buu over and over, and though she wasn't stronger than the monster before her, she was strong enough to give him trouble.

One final kick from Chiara sent Buu flying back, straight into the Spirit Bomb. Buu saw the Spirit Bomb and he knew he had to stop, but his momentum made it impossible and he found himself flying straight into it. He screamed as the bomb incinerated him.

When everything quieted down again, Buu was dead, the Spirit Bomb was gone, Goku, Vegeta, Good Buu, Bee and Hercule were on the ground, and Chiara was suspended in mid-air, as if frozen there. Her hair was golden, her eyes green, her body bigger if beaten.

Her father, beaten but standing, her Senpai, beaten but now conscious again, and the Champion of the World, who had earned his title that day, looked up at her.

Her hair and eyes flickered, changing colour a few times before both turning their original colour again. Chiara's strength failed her at that point and she fell out of the sky. Goku caught her just before she hit the ground and he gently held her.

"What _was_ that, Kakkarot?" Vegeta asked in astonishment.

"I think we just saw the very first Female Super Saiyan," Goku said proudly, as he looked at his daughter.

Vegeta nodded approvingly. "So the runt finally did it. She finally transformed completely."

Goku nodded before moving to sit down, his daughter still cradled in his arms. He supposed that at her age she wouldn't want to be cradled anymore, but as long as she was sleeping, or unconscious, he could get away with it. As he held her, he pondered the past two days and realized he was extremely lucky to not only be allowed to go back to his family but to be accepted back by them as well.

_'My daughter, the first female Super Saiyan,' _he thought proudly. _'Fancy that.'_


	59. Chapter 59: The Rescue of the Good Buu

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Let the celebrations begin. To uhm…Damn, who sent me a review for my last chapter, I wish you had been a little less vague about what I did to ruin everything. All I can say is I'm sorry if there was something you didn't like. To those of you who did, thank you for your reviews.

_Chapter LIX: The Rescue of the Good Buu._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

It wasn't long before the heroes of Earth were joined by Dende, KibitoKai and Old Kai. Dende raved about how they had beaten Buu before offering to heal them.

"Heal the runt first," Vegeta ordered as Dende moved to his side.

Dende looked over at Chiara, and upon seeing the state she was in, rushed over to heal her. The healing was complete in seconds and Chiara's eyes blinked open. She looked into her father's face and smiled.

"Did we do it?" she asked, vaguely remembering the ending but not sure if she was imagining things.

"Yes, sweetheart, we did it," Goku said, allowing her to stand up.

She looked around, catching sight of Dende, who was healing Vegeta, Hercule and Bee, who were horsing around, and KibitoKai and Old Kai who were surveying the state of their planet.

"We did it," she whispered to herself, a happy smile spreading across her now healed face.

She looked down when she felt a draft and noticed the state of her clothes. Her shirt was barely on and her pants were torn in more than a few places.

"That seems to happen a lot lately," she said, blushing slightly. "I don't suppose anyone has a full outfit I could borrow?"

"No, but I could make you one," KibitoKai said from behind her.

She turned to look at him and he smiled benignly at her, politely keeping his eyes averted.

"That would be great," she said gratefully.

KibitoKai nodded, still managing to look anywhere but at her, as he raised his hand and created the same outfit Kibito had created before. Chiara sighed happily as she looked herself over.

"Whole once more," she said and she meant it in more ways than one.

They were all startled when Bee suddenly started barking, running to the side of a prone Buu. The good version of Buu. Bee whined as he circled Buu.

"Oh my," Chiara said as she caught sight of the pink alien.

"What?" Vegeta cried as he saw Buu.

Hercule rushed to the side of Buu, Chiara quickly joining him. They both kneeled down at his side.

"Buu, are you okay?" Hercule asked, putting his ear to Buu's chest. "Buu, you're alive." Hercule caught sight of the others and cried out to Dende, "Hey, little green guy. Come here. Quick, use your powers on him before he dies. Please."

Dende started at that, but stayed where he was, not quite sure what to do. He threw his friends a questioning glance.

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta cried. "Have you lost your mind? Move." He raised his arm at Buu. "Get back, it's not over until he's dead."

"No, you can't kill him," Hercule cried, shielding Buu with his own body.

"Move, fool, or I will kill you along with him," Vegeta warned.

"He helped us, Senpai," Chiara argued. "We can't kill him."

"It doesn't matter if he helped us," Vegeta said. "And we most certainly _can_ kill him."

Vegeta raised his arm again but this time Chiara placed herself in front of him and Hercule.

"I won't let you kill him," Chiara said, ignoring the furious expression on her Senpai's face. "Not after everything he has done to help us. Without him we wouldn't even be here right now."

"Without him none of this would have happened in the first place," Vegeta spat. "Now move, runt."

Chiara shook her head, stubbornly refusing to budge. Goku, who had been silent throughout the exchange, now stepped in.

"Dende, go ahead and heal him, okay?" he said, making everyone look at him.

"Are you nuts?" Vegeta demanded. "Explain, right now."

"I'm just returning the favor, that's all," Goku said calmly. "Remember what happened when Majin Buu had you pinned down? The Big Buu attacked and got him off of you and then he called for Hercule to carry you off to safety. Right?"

Vegeta growled at the reminder.

"The fact is, Vegeta, that if it wasn't for these two the Earth would be gone right now," Goku continued. "I think that gives them as much right to live here as anyone else and you know it."

Chiara nodded in agreement but said nothing, her Senpai was already mad at her.

"Yes, but…the Earthlings don't know what went on up here," KibitoKai cut in. "I think that their fear of Buu is going to cause some serious problems."

But Chiara had already thought of that. "So we use the dragonballs to wish for people to forget Buu. They won't know that any of this ever happened."

"Typical of todays youth," Old Kai said. "Just wish it away." But he was ignored.

"Well then, it's all settled, right?" Goku said to Vegeta.

"Yes, that's a brilliant idea," Vegeta sneered. "If you don't have a brain."

"Hey," Chiara said indignantly. "I'm actually rather proud of that idea."

"Thank you so much," Hercule said to Goku and Chiara. "I'll never forget this."

"Don't worry, we won't let you," Chiara joked. "Dende?"

Dende rushed forward to heal Buu while the others looked on.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," Goku said. "I say after Dende's finished, we head home and get a bite to eat."

"I say amen to that," Chiara enthused. "I'm famished." She then turned to her father and said, "Thank you."

"For what?" Goku asked with a smile.

Chiara thought of all the things she could say to that. Thank you for saving the Earth, for saving Buu, for coming back, for not holding her former grudge against her, for being her father. In the end, she settled for, "For everything."

And Goku responded by gathering her in his arms and holding her small form tightly.


	60. Chapter 60: Reunion of Family

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: I'm afraid my chapters aren't getting any longer. I apologize for that but every time I try to make them longer, I come across this great cliffhanger about halfway. At the end of this chapter, you'll see a cliffhanger that I couldn't pass up.

_Chapter LX: Reunion of Family._

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

KibitoKai teleported the z-fighters to Dende's look-out and they said their goodbyes before he left. The very second Goku, Chiara, Vegeta and Hercule showed themselves, Buu and Bee staying hidden, they were beset by their families.

Vegeta was greeted by Bulma and Trunks, Hercule by a very happy Videl, and Goku and Chiara by Gohan, Goten, ChiChi and Ox-King. Goten ran to Chiara, crying her name, tears streaming down his little face.

"Oh, sweety," Chiara said, going down on her knees and catching him when he launched himself at her.

Goten sobbed into her shoulder, all his fears finally over, but the tears still needing to be released.

"It's okay," Chiara cooed, tenderly rubbing his back. "Just let it all out."

He tried to tell her how much he had missed her, and he tried to tell her what had happened to him while she was gone, but his sobbing made it impossible, so Chiara shushed him and held him while he cried. When Goten had calmed down a little, Chiara walked to Goku, the little boy still in her arms.

"Now, do you want to say hello to daddy?" Chiara asked gently.

Goten lifted his head and spotted his dad.

"Hey, little man," Goku said, opening his arms.

"Daddy," Goten cried, jumping into Goku's arms.

Chiara smiled softly at the two before turning to Gohan, ChiChi and Ox-King, who had already greeted Goku. Chiara hugged Gohan first, both of them sighing when they finally felt complete again.

"I now know how you felt when I died on Namek," Chiara said, still hugging him. "And I wish to Dende that I didn't. I've never felt so empty."

Gohan nodded slowly, he knew what it felt like, and he too wished that he didn't.

"I couldn't even form a coherent sentence while you were dead," she added. "All I could think of was revenge."

Gohan nodded again. "I remember that. I think the only words I spoke on Namek after you died were 'dad' and 'Chi'. That was all my mind would allow."

Now it was Chiara's turn to nod as she broke the hug. Gohan looked down at his twin, who looked unutterably weary and gently transferred some of his energy to her. Chiara smiled as she felt some of the fatigue fade and she stood a little straighter.

"Good to have you back, bro," Chiara said, an affectionate smile on her face.

"Good to be back, sis," Gohan said, returning the smile.

They hugged one more time before Chiara turned to ChiChi, who immediately enveloped her daughter in a strong hug. Chiara returned the hug, holding her mother tightly, all the while remembering how Buu had turned her into an egg and squashed her. She drew back and looked her mother over, reassuring herself that she was fine. ChiChi frowned worriedly at her only daughter, her mother instinct screaming at her that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, honey?" ChiChi asked.

"Nothing," Chiara said quickly. Too quickly. "I'm fine now."

ChiChi nodded slowly, resolving to talk to her about it in private later. Hercule then decided it was time to introduce Buu. He glanced at Goku and Chiara, who both nodded encouragingly.

"Look," Hercule enthused, pointing at Buu as he emerged, Bee sitting on his shoulder.

Everybody but Goku, Vegeta, Chiara, Hercule and Dende jumped back in shock and fright. Buu responded by sticking his tongue out at them. Some of the z-team, like Trunks and Goten, got into a fighting position, prepared to fight Buu. Goku quickly jumped in, assuring them that that wasn't necessary.

"Vegeta," Bulma all but whispered, her blue eyes wide. "Why is Buu here?"

Vegeta let out an annoyed grunt, before saying, "Why don't you ask the runt? She knows all about it."

"Oh, come on, Senpai," Chiara enthused as she made her way over to Buu. "He's on our side."

"Chiara, you get away from that monster," ChiChi called, her face a picture of horror.

"It's okay, mom," Chiara said. "Buu's good now."

Buu retracted his tongue at that and turned to Chiara. "Buu good?" he asked.

"Yes, Buu, you're good," she confirmed, patting his arm.

Buu giggled. "Buu good," he enthused. He paused, a small frown on his face. "Buu hungry."

"Me too, Buu," Chiara said, rubbing her stomach. "Me too."

"We get food?" Buu asked.

"Later, Buu, I promise," she said, before turning back to her family.

They were still in shock that Buu was now on their side, and it was some time before they all let their guard down around the pink creature. When she was sure that no fights would break out, Chiara relaxed. From the corner of her eye, she could see Trunks standing nearby, occasionally stealing glances at her. She walked to him and gave him a gentle smile.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

Trunks shook his head, his eyes wide. "Nothing."

A mischievous look crossed Chiara's face as she bent down to the little boy. "I think something _is_ wrong, but it's nothing that can't be solved by a hug."

And before Trunks could respond, Chiara had grabbed him in a big hug. Trunks blushed furiously as Chiara set him down again and scratched the back of his head sheepishly as everybody chuckled.

"Hey," Goten cried, running up to Chiara. "What about me?"

Chiara laughed as she scooped Goten up. "You want a hug too, little brother?"

Goten nodded furiously before he found himself hugged tightly by his sister. He returned the hug enthusiastically as Trunks mock-glared at his best friend. Chiara tossed Goten into the air, catching him as he came down. Goten laughed delightedly as she repeated the act.

"Look at you," Chiara said, holding him close. "You're getting bigger by the minute. Pretty soon I won't be able to hold you like this anymore."

"No," Goten cried, his face falling. "I'll stop growing, I promise."

Chiara chuckled softly, cuddling him to her. Goku sighed as he looked around.

"It sure is nice to be back," he said. "Sorry I've been gone so long."

"It's okay, Goku, we understand," ChiChi said, before throwing an unsure look at her daughter.

"We _all_ understand," Chiara confirmed as she put Goten down, a smile on her face. A relieved smile appeared on ChiChi's face as she heard that. Her smile grew when Chiara added, "And since dad isn't dead anymore, he won't have to be away any longer."

"You're kidding me," ChiChi said, turning to Goku. "You mean we're going to live together, as a family of five in our little house?"

"Well, that's what I was planning on," Goku said. "If you guys think you can put up with me."

ChiChi burst into tears before she threw herself into Goku's arms.

"Gosh, ChiChi, it's okay," Goku said. "I'm back for good, I love you."

Chiara sighed as she watched the beautiful reunion between her mom and dad, her heart finally at ease. Everything would be fine now. Her mom and dad were together again, she had her twin back, her twin had a girlfriend. A slightly villainous smirk crossed Chiara's face as she wandered over to Videl.

"So, you're gonna be my sister-in-law, huh?" she said, making Videl jump.

Videl looked at the frown on Chiara's face and nervously stammered for a few moments.

"I don't suppose I need to warn you not to hurt him," Chiara continued, paying no heed to Videl's stammers.

"I know you don't like me…" Videl stuttered. "But I like Gohan…and I…"

Videl stopped trying to explain herself when she saw the smile on Chiara's face.

"Ooh," she seethed for a moment. "How dare you? You had me worried."

Chiara chuckled before pulling Videl into a hug. "Welcome to the Son family," she whispered.

"Thank you," Videl whispered back, returning the hug gratefully.

When they pulled away, Chiara gave a mock-glaring Gohan an innocent look. "I was just teasing."

"You shouldn't tease about something you are experiencing as well," a voice said from behind her.

Chiara started at the sound of the voice and blushed wildly as she turned to her boyfriend, who stood there smiling gently at her.

Note: I was a little hesitant to add the whole Gohan transfers some energy to Chiara thing, but after some contemplation I figured that since they're so close, and since they have the mental link, it makes sense.


	61. Chapter 61: He Is Your Boyfriend?

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Here it is, Chiara's boyfriend. Some of you had already guessed who it was anyway, but still…enjoy!

_Chapter LXI: _**_He_**_ Is Your Boyfriend?_

_775 A.D. May the 8th._

"You're late," Chiara said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know, I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"What's going on with those two?" Krillin asked Android 18.

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me why he was here," 18 said, looking confused herself.

Android 17 ignored them all as he walked to Chiara and stopped in front of her, Chiara stepping into his arms without hesitating. They hugged for a long moment before pulling back.

"I was at the tournament, you were magnificent," he praised, brushing a lock of her hair from her forehead.

"Thank you," Chiara blushed.

"I didn't want to distract you during the tournament and I figured I would see you after. When you all suddenly disappeared I wanted to follow, but I knew I would be no good to you, so I hung back," 17 said, before quietly adding, "I was worried about you though."

"What?" Gohan yelled, finally snapping out of his shock. "Android 17's your boyfriend?"

"That's right," Chiara said, only a little defensive about it.

"My daughter is dating an android?" Goku asked in disbelief.

"Isn't it wonderful?" ChiChi asked, a big smile on her face. "I think they're so sweet."

"You knew?" Gohan asked, only stopping himself from yelling because he was talking to his mother.

"Of course, dear, I'm her mother, I'm supposed to know these things," ChiChi said.

Gohan turned to Chiara and pointed a finger at her accusingly. "Why did mom know while I didn't?"

"Because I knew you would react like this," Chiara said simply. "Look at you, you're practically foaming at the mouth."

Gohan's hand automatically went to his mouth and he glared at Chiara when she chuckled.

"I wanted to talk to somebody who could be level-headed about it," Chiara added.

"Level-headed?" Gohan asked in disbelief. "How could anyone be level-headed about dating an android?"

Android 18 cleared her throat and glared at Gohan, who immediately began spluttering excuses and apologies. Chiara rolled her eyes and turned away from Gohan, only to find herself facing a broad and muscular chest.

Chiara looked up and gave her father a small smile. The smile was returned before they looked at eachother for a long while. They had been through a lot together in the previous days and what they had been through had reforged the bond between father and daughter.

To confirm this, Goku extended his hand to her, "Father and daughter?"

Without hesitation, Chiara grasped his hand firmly and smiled a full and loving smile.

"Father and daughter," Chiara said.

Goku smiled in answer and spread his arms. Having shaken hands as equals, they then hugged as family.

"I love you, daddy," Chiara whispered.

"I love you too, sweetheart," Goku whispered back.

Chiara pulled back from Goku. Anything she might have said after that was drowned out by two eager little voices, clamouring for her attention. She smiled softly as she looked down at the two boys, patiently answering all of their questions.

"When you were on your own against Buu, were you scared?" Trunks asked.

"Of course she wasn't scared, Trunks," Goten cut in. "Chi's never scared."

Chiara said nothing as Goten's trusting little face shone up at her, sure that he was right. She ruffled his hair, not wanting to burst his bubble. He'd learn that everybody get's scared from time to time soon enough, she'd let him think what he wanted until then.

"What was it like inside Majin Buu's stomach, Chi?" Trunks asked.

"I bet it was great," Goten said.

"You really wanna know?" Chiara asked.

Both boys leaned towards her, nodding enthusiastically.

"We swam around in disgusting liquids, probably swallowed a few gallons of it, we encountered worms that were beyond nasty and were nearly excreted a few times."

"Awesome," Trunks and Goten chorused and Chiara chuckled.

"I really could have done without the graphic description," Bulma said, swallowing hard a few times.

"What does excreted mean, Chi?" Goten asked.

"Nothing," ChiChi cut in before Chiara could speak. "That means absolutely nothing, and that'll be quite enough of that, young lady."

"Yes, mom," Chiara conceded, giving the boys an apologetic shrug.

When it was time to go home, Chiara and 17 went somewhere private to say goodbye. The z-team watched Chiara and Android 17 go and when they were gone, Krillin turned to Gohan.

"How come you didn't know who she was dating?" Krillin asked. "You have a mental link, don't you?"

"Well, I don't make a habit out of prying into my sister's thoughts," Gohan said defensively. "Besides, she _can_ block me out."

"Well, I say she can do much better than him," Trunks said, his arms crossed.

Goten blinked and looked at Trunks for a moment before grinning and saying, "You're jealous."

"What?" Trunks all but yelled. "I am not, why would I be?"

"You have a crush on Chiara," Goten teased. "Trunks likes Chiara, Trunks likes Chiara."

Trunks looked on as Goten danced around chanting those three words, his fists clenched and his cheeks flaming red. Everyone laughed gently and Trunks could do nothing but continue to blush.

-----

That night, when everything had settled down, ChiChi decided it was time to talk to Chiara about what had been bothering her. Goten was in bed, Gohan was upstairs, they would have the time and privacy they needed. They sat at the kitchen table, Chiara nervously fiddling with the table cloth.

"It's nothing, really," she said weakly in answer to her mother's inquiry.

"You held me like you were afraid I might disappear," ChiChi said gently. "I don't think that's nothing."

Chiara said nothing. She swallowed hard, tears beginning to rise in her eyes.

"Is this about what happened during the battle against Buu?" Goku asked softly. "You were staring at Buu, and then you suddenly lost it."

Chiara winced at the memory, and nodded slowly.

"What did you see?" Goku asked, putting a large hand on her much smaller one.

Chiara took a deep breath. "I saw him turning mom into an egg. And I saw him squash it." Chiara turned to her mother. "I watched him kill you, and all he could do was grin at me. He thought it was funny. He thought he could hurt you and get away with it."

A sob came from deep within as Chiara remembered the pain at seeing her mother die. ChiChi's eyes filled with tears as Goku swallowed hard. He remembered when he had watched Chiara die on Namek, not being able to do a thing about it, he remembered the pain and he didn't want that for his little girl.

"I won't let anyone hurt you ever again," Chiara swore to her mother. "I won't, I swear it."

Barely keeping her own tears at bay, ChiChi hugged her now sobbing daughter. When the tears stopped coming and she had calmed down somewhat, Chiara and Goku sat on the sofa, Chiara resting in her father's massive arms, while ChiChi made some tea.

Chiara sighed as she snuggled deeper into her father's arms. Everything would be okay, she knew that now. Her mother was fine and would remain so. She didn't care what she had to do, no one would ever hurt anyone in her family again.


	62. Chapter 62: An Afternoon on the Town

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Not much action in this one, just Buu and Chiara going into town. In the series, Goku says that they would wait six months before wishing the memory of Buu away, but in any timeline I've found it says that they do so four months later. So…September 7 it is.

_Chapter LXII: An Afternoon on the Town._

_775 A.D. September the 7th._

Chiara yawned as she saunted through town, her ever present pink shadow behind her. Buu had taken her promise of food very seriously, and not just for that one day, he expected her to supply food just about every day. Chiara didn't mind, for the most part the food came from Hercule's place anyway. All other times, when she had to supply the food herself, money was an issue.

She stopped walking when she heard a loud rumble right behind her. It seemed today would be one of those days. She had no money, they weren't anywhere near Hercule's house, and Buu was a creature of little patience when it came to food.

"Chi get food?" he asked.

Chiara sighed as she turned around and looked up at the large Majin. "Yes, Buu," she said. "But we need money." She looked around her.

The town they were in was a lively place and it seemed that on any given day, on any given streetcorner, there was some yahoo offering money for something or other. Sure enough she caught sight of one such loser, who was offering 100.000 zeni to anyone who could punch him out.

"Alright," she said, turning to Buu. "We'll…"

She stopped when she realized Buu was no longer there. She frantically looked around, hoping he hadn't gone far. He usually got into trouble when left to his own devices. After some quick searching, she found him in an icecream shop, terrorizing the attendant.

"Buu," Chiara scolded, starting towards him. "You can't just walk off like that. You worried me."

Buu calmed down at the sound of her voice and turned to her. "Man won't give Buu icecream," he said, sounding terribly affronted.

"That's because you need money, Buu," she said, reaching him. "You can't just barge into a place and demand food, you'll frighten people."

"Buu need money?" Buu asked.

"Yes, Buu," Chiara said exasperatedly, before turning to the still cowering attendant. "I'm terribly sorry about that. He tends to get overzealous when it comes to food."

"I…I told him he needed money…and steam started coming out of his head," the attendant stammered.

"Yes, well, we all get a little steamed sometimes," Chiara said, chuckling nervously as she began to push Buu from the shop. "We'll come back when we have money."

When they had left the store, Chiara kept walking, not looking at Buu.

"Chi mad?" Buu asked, sounding confused.

Chiara turned to Buu, intent on telling him exactly how mad she was but when she saw him standing there, looking down at her so innocently, she knew she shouldn't be mad at all. He had been evil for so long, he was still learning how to be good. She couldn't blame him for slipping sometimes.

"No, Buu," she finally said, smiling up at her large, pink friend. "I'm not mad. Just stay with me from now on, okay?"

"Okay," Buu said, smiling happily, before frowning when his stomach rumbled. "Chi get money now?"

Chiara sighed but smiled all the same. How could she not? He was so harmlessly adorable sometimes.

-----

Some time later, Buu and Chiara sat on a bench in the park, Buu happily finishing what was left of his once enormous icecream. Getting the money for the icecream had been beyond easy – one punch from one of Buu's ham-sized fists being all it took – and before they knew it, they were walking out of the icecream shop, laden with icecream.

Well, Buu had walked out laden with icecream, Chiara hadn't taken any. She wasn't very hungry and hadn't been for a while now. Her mother seemed to think it was because she was in love, but Chiara couldn't agree. She _was_ in love, no doubt about it, but she didn't think that would affect her appetite. Gohan was in love and his appetite was fine. When she had pointed this out to her mother, her mother had said that it was different for boys and girls, which led Chiara to wonder how Videl's appetite was doing.

She was startled from her thoughts when a grocery bag was plunked down next to her on the bench. She looked up and into the angrily scowling face of Bulma Briefs. For a brief moment, Chiara feared the anger was directed at her, though why she couldn't imagine, and she went to say something when Bulma spoke up.

"Men," the blue-haired woman spat. "I swear. You can't trust them, can you?"

"What happened?" Chiara asked.

"The same thing that always happens when shopping takes more than an hour," Bulma said, clenching her fists. "Those two Saiyans bailed on me. Before he left, Vegeta told me to tell you, by the way, that he'll be expecting you in the gravity room after dinner." Bulma huffed before continuing, "Just because all he ever does is train, doesn't mean the rest of us don't have a life." Bulma calmed down slightly at that and gave Chiara a thoughtful look. "How is 17?"

Chiara blushed, making Bulma smile. "He's fine," Chiara said softly. "He's coming over for dinner tonight."

Bulma cocked her head. "I didn't think Androids ate."

"Well, I don't know about Androids in general," Chiara said. "I just know 17 doesn't need to eat, but he can if he wants to. I think it's because he used to be human."

Bulma nodded in understanding before looking over at Buu, who was just finishing the last bite of his icecream.

"The big lug really likes you, doesn't he?" she asked with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, we're buddies," Chiara confirmed, giving Buu a fond look before turning back to Bulma. "Though, I think the main reason he likes me is because I give him food. "

Bulma chuckled at that, before glancing at the massive Majin and musing, "He must cost a fortune to feed."

"He does, but I don't mind. Hercules pays for most of it, and whenever I have to pay…" Chiara shrugged. "Money isn't hard to come by in a town like this. Take today for example. Some guy was offering 100.000 zeni to anyone who could punch him out. Needless to say it didn't take Buu long to accomplish that."

"100.000 zeni?" Bulma asked in wonder.

"Yeah, it's all gone now though. Buu gave it all to the icecream vendor," Chiara said.

"All of it?" Bulma gasped.

Chiara nodded. "It's okay. I couldn't take it home anyway. Mom would wanna know where it came from and I'm no good at lying to her."

"Well, at least you got your icecream," Bulma said.

Chiara shook her head. "Nah, I didn't get any. I haven't really been hungry lately."

Bulma smiled softly. "Hm. Love, sweet love."

Chiara rolled her eyes. "You sound like my mom. How can love take your appetite? I thought it was supposed to be a good thing."

"Love is a good thing, and your appetite will come back," Bulma soothed, before checking her watch. "In the mean time, I better go. I still have some things I need to do."

"Can we come along?" Chiara asked.

"Sure," Bulma smiled. "Carry that bag for me, would you, Buu?"

Buu took the bag without protest, trailing behind the two women as they walked and talked. One of Bulma's errands was to be run in a jewelry store. Chiara stood next to Bulma as she went about picking jewelry, leaving Buu to muck around in the back of the store.

A loud crash drew all attention to the pink alien and Chiara gasped as she saw that he had smashed a case and was now eating the jewelry.

"No," she cried, rushing to him. "What are you doing?"

She yanked his fist from his mouth, making him drop the jewelry that was in it.

"Open your mouth," she ordered. Buu complied, opening his jaw wide enough to fit Chiara's head and torso in and Chiara started plucking jewelry from between his teeth. "How could you do that? Don't you know that costs money? Money we don't have."

Once sure she got all the jewelry out, she tried to put it all back in the display. By then, they had been joined by the shell-shocked attendant, who gawked at the case and the jewelry.

"I'm terribly sorry about all of this," Chiara babbled as she handed some of the jewelry to the man. "I can't take him anywhere, it's terrible." She chuckled nervously, before grabbing Buu's arm and pulling him to another corner of the shop. "Just send the bill to Hercule," she said to the man.

Bulma looked on as Chiara scolded Buu, red with embarassment on the outside but more than a little amused on the inside, she couldn't wait to tell Vegeta about this one.

They were all startled when the door to the shop flew open and two robbers barged into the shop, intent on robbing the place. Chiara told Buu to stay in the corner, lest he make even more trouble, and stepped forward.

"Stay back, little lady," one of the men said, aiming his gun at her. "You don't wanna get hurt."

"Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?" Bulma spoke up. "That gun's a joke. You better put it away before you get hurt."

Chiara, in the mean time, was staring at the face of the robber. She was vaguely aware of the sound of sirens, but stayed focused on the man in front of her. She had seen him before, very recently in fact. Suddenly, she remembered.

"Hey, Buu," she said, turning to him. "Remember him?"

Buu looked at the guy as he stepped forward, before smiling broadly. "Hey, you nice man. Give Buu money for icecream."

"That's right," Chiara confirmed. "Isn't it a small world?"

The robbers had now recognized Buu as well and couldn't get out of the shop fast enough, running to the cops waiting outside, begging to be taken in.

Bulma, Buu and Chiara walked out and suddenly noticed that the cops weren't the only ones outside. The Great Saiyaman and Great Saiyawoman were there as well. They caught the last few seconds of their Great Saiyapose and Chiara chuckled.

"That get's funnier every time I see it," she laughed. Gohan scowled at Chiara but she ignored it. "You're a little late, but at least you got the location right this time."

The last bit referred to an incident that had occurred not long before. The radio had reported that a robbery was going down in the North City, when it was really happening in the South City.

"That wasn't my fault, I was misinformed," Gohan cried, before catching himself and reverting back to his Great Saiyaman. "I mean, justice has prevailed today. The Great Saiyaman…"

"…and Great Saiyawoman…" Videl added.

"…are on the move," they finished together.

Chiara watched them go, a smile on her face. How they could ever think that was cool she'd never know.


	63. Chapter 63: Party at the Capsule Corp

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: None.

Note: Pretty much another bland chapter, I'm afraid. It's party time for the Sons. Well, that was the idea anyway. You know nothing ever works out the way it should for _this _family. To make up for its not so action filled condition, I've made it extra long.

_Chapter LXIII: Party at the Capsule Corporation._

_776 A.D. June the 11th._

Chiara frowned as she looked at the problem before her. She had been mulling over it for some time but the solution eluded her. She approached the problem from one end, but came up empty. She then tried it from the other end but again got nothing. Her frown deepened. How difficult could it be? She had seen her mother get it done just moments before.

"Chi," her little brother complained from where he sat before her. "Is this gonna take much longer?"

"If you'd left it alone, it would be done already," Chiara returned exasperatedly, once again giving it a go. She huffed when it didn't work. "This is ridiculous," she snapped, irritably crossing her arms over her chest.

"Chi," Gohan's voice came before he appeared in the door opening. "Are you…"

"No," Chiara cut in. "I'm not done yet, and if this thing doesn't start cooperating soon, I'll incinerate it and tell mom it went missing somehow."

"Just get mom to do it, it's almost time to go," Gohan said before walking off again.

Chiara bristled at the implication that she needed help, before she sighed in resignation. Gohan was right. "I give up, little man," she said to Goten. "Ask mom for help."

"Do you think mom will be mad I messed it up again?" Goten asked.

"No, she won't be," Chiara said, shaking her head. "She'll be mad at me for _letting_ you mess it up. Besides, with or without a tie, you look adorable." She planted a kiss on his nose and he giggled. "Now go."

"Okay," Goten said before hopping down from Chiara's bed. "Mom," he called as he went. "I need help with my tie."

Chiara sighed as she watched her little brother skip from her room, before getting up from where she'd been kneeling on the ground. She brushed her dress off, attempting to smooth out the wrinkles. She winced when one wrinkle in the skirt of her dress wouldn't go. Having rarely worn dresses, she had no idea how to treat one. Apparently, kneeling wasn't a good idea. She sighed, she'd just have to hope that her mom didn't notice.

She picked up her backpack, which contained a change of clothes, and left her room. Taking a change of clothes with her was always practical when she went to the Capsule Corporation, even if there _was _a party. At any given time, her Senpai might decided that training was in order, and since 'no' wasn't an answer he accepted, the training he scheduled always took place. At any normal time, the change of clothes was to replace the clothes that would inevitably get torn during training. During or after a party, however, it was simply so she didn't have to fight in a dress.

She met her two brothers and mother at the front door. Chiara sourly noted that Goten's bowtie was done perfectly and also noted, equally sourly, that her mother _wasn't _wearing a dress, though she was dressed smartly in a pink blouse and white pants.

_'Whatever happened to behaving and dressing like a lady?' _Chiara thought, thinking back on the lengthy lecture her mother had given her on proper behaviour.

She didn't say that aloud though. There was no need to make her mom mad, especially when she looked mad already. Their mother was muttering about men and how untrustworthy hers was. When she caught sight of Chiara, however, the anger vanished and was replaced by pride.

"Oh, honey," she enthused. "Look at you. You look beautiful." She fussed over her daughter for a moment, frowning at the wrinkle she spotted immediately. She said nothing about it, instead saying, "Didn't I tell you red would look good on you?"

Chiara gave her mom a small smile at that, nodding at the question. She didn't mind dresses so much anymore, not since 17 had told her she looked beautiful in them, but she still, even now, didn't see why it was necessary to wear a dress to every semi-special occasion. To a prom? That she understood. Going to a fancy restaurant? Sure, wear a dress. But her mother seemed to believe that even a casual party with friends called for a dress.

"Where is 17?" Goten suddenly asked. "I thought he was coming with us."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Chiara said confidently. "He said he would be."

ChiChi huffed at that. "What men say and what men do are two very different things, I know that much."

Chiara's face fell at that, her certainty waning. ChiChi's face fell as well as she realized what she had said.

"Oh, honey, I didn't mean…" ChiChi began.

But she was cut off when the doorbell rang. Chiara's spirits lifted. The bell had rung and yet they could sense no one outside. That meant it could be only one person. Well, two, but what would 18 be doing at their house?

Chiara opened the door and found herself face to face with Android 17. Black jeans and a white shirt made up his simple dress and he looked good in it. He smiled warmly until he saw what she was wearing. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly open.

He looked absolutely stunned, so much so that for a moment Chiara worried the front of her dress had slipped down, indecently exposing her chest. A quick glance down told her she was still covered and she blushed at having stunned the normally stoic Android.

"You look beautiful," he finally said softly, before correcting, "You _are_ beautiful."

Chiara's blush deepened at that and it refused to let up, even as they headed for the Capsule Corporation, her mother still muttering under her breath about her father. Throughout the journey, 17 kept stealing glances at Chiara, the appreciation in the glances making Chiara wish she had done something with her hair as well.

Of course, it was nothing short of impossible to do anything with her hair. There was only one position it agreed to stay in, tied back and pinned down, and while this was effective, it was hardly stylish or elegant. Not for the first time, she cursed the Saiyan gene that had made her hair so spiky and impossible.

_'Why couldn't I get the human gene on that one?' _she thought.

She had thought about wishing the gene away once or twice with the dragonballs but there were two major problems with that. For one, with her luck it would be the same gene that caused her to be so strong and for another, she wasn't going withing ten feet of the dragonballs. In the end, she could only settle for blaming her dad.

When they got to the Capsule Corporation, the door was open. Inside Krillin, 18 and Marron were admiring what appeared to be Yamcha's brand new car.

"I could get used to this," Krillin was saying.

"I bet you could," Gohan said as they walked up.

Krillin started at the sound of Gohan's voice and bumped his head.

"It's great to see you guys," he said, rubbing the top of his head.

"Hi, Trunks," Chiara said, waving at the small boy, partially hidden by the car.

Trunks blushed and returned the wave. "Hi, Chi. You look nice."

"Thank you," she said softly. "So do you."

And it was true. Trunks looked quite dapper in his sweater and shorts.

"Hey, Gohan, check out my new ride," Yamcha said, gesturing at the admittedly stunning vehicle.

"Wauw, it's beautiful," Chiara enthused, her voice as sugary as she could make it.

"Chi, leave it alone," Gohan said, before turning to Yamcha and agreeing that it was a very nice car.

Yamcha scowled at Chiara and thanked Gohan before heading inside, leaving them with the car.

"'Check out my new ride'," Chiara mocked, folding her arms again. "Honestly."

17 chuckled, wrapping an arm around Chiara's waist. "Come on, grumpy, let's go inside."

As they walked they could hear Krillin question, "Where's Goku?"

"Goku? Never heard of him, who's he anyway?" ChiChi snapped, before starting to walk off.

"Gosh, what in the world is he doing this time?" Krillin asked.

"He's having a baby," ChiChi called back, before stalking inside so fast she overtook Chiara and 17.

Chiara sighed and shook her head, wrapping her own arm around her boyfriend as they followed her mom inside. The very second Chiara entered, a large shadow fell over her.

"Chi get food?" the familiar voice asked.

Chiara looked surprised. "Haven't you eaten already?"

"Blue lady make Buu wait," Buu said.

"Bulma? Why?" Chiara asked, just as Bulma walked up.

"Because I figured you'd want to feed him yourself," Bulma said, a slightly mischievous look on her face.

"Gee, thanks," Chiara said, though she didn't really mind.

Bulma chuckled. "He was hovering around Vegeta, until Vegeta threatened to make sure you'd never feed him again."

Chiara sighed, that did sound like her Senpai. She turned to 17 and went to speak but 17 cut her off.

"It's okay," he said. "Go feed your friend, I'll be waiting right here."

Chiara smiled gratefully and they kissed briefly before she took Buu's hand and walked him over to the full tables of food. She grabbed one of the larger plates and started piling up the food. She then carried the very large and deceptively heavy plate to a spot under a tree, close enough to Vegeta to annoy him.

"Runt, why do you have to put him there?" Vegeta snapped from where he was sitting.

"It's a nice spot," Chiara said simply, though the smile on her face said different.

She set the plate down, ignoring Vegeta's glare, and turned to Buu.

"Dig in, buddy," she said fondly. "It's all yours."

Buu sat down next to the plate and happily started stuffing the food in his mouth. Chiara walked off, knowing that Buu would be busy for a little while and she could now get her own food. On her way back to 17, she accepted two glasses of ginger ale from one of the serving droids. She handed one to 17 as she reached him.

"Do you want some food?" she asked.

"Perhaps later," 17 said, before studying her for a moment. "You are so sweet."

"What do you mean?" Chiara asked, a blush already starting to form.

"You must be starving yourself, yet here you are taking care of others," 17 explained. He set his glass down and took her hands, guiding her to a chair. "Tell you what. You sit down here." He sat her down. "And I'll get you something to eat."

He kissed the tip of her nose and walked off, leaving Chiara to sigh dreamily as she sat watching him go.

"How sickening," she heard someone muttering behind her.

Her eyes narrowed as she turned to the person responsible for the muttering.

"What?" she said softly.

Yamcha didn't repeat what he said, instead saying, "You know he's only in it for one thing, don't you?"

Chiara slowly got up from her chair. "And what would that be?"

Yamcha smirked. "You know what I mean," he said, inclining his head at her body.

Around them the party continued, their friends unaware that in little more than a minute, Son Chiara could well be tearing the former desert-bandit's head off.

"You're saying 17's only interested in me for my body?" she asked, her voice still soft.

"Yeah, though why I can't imagine," Yamcha sneered. "There isn't a whole lot on you."

It was Bulma's shriek that alerted everyone to what was happening and it was Vegeta's hand that stopped Chiara from doing permanent damage. As it was, she managed to get a single shot in before she was pulled away by Vegeta and 17. Gohan placed himself between the two z-fighers, though only Chiara needed holding back. Yamcha wasn't moving from where he stood, clutching his face.

"What is going on here?" ChiChi demanded.

"I didn't do anything," Yamcha shouted. "She had no reason to attack me like that."

"No?" Chiara seethed, struggling against Vegeta and 17. "Why don't you repeat what you said to me? Why don't you tell them how you think 17's only my boyfriend because he wants to get me into his bed?"

"What?" ChiChi cried and then Gohan was holding ChiChi back.

A fist flew from out of nowhere and connected with the side of Yamcha's face, sending him sprawling into some bushes. The fist responsible wasn't attached to Chiara, Vegeta, or even 17. The fist was clad in a yellow glove and attached to an angry looking Buu.

"Man make Chi shout," he proclaimed indignantly. He was silent for a moment. "Chi get Buu food?"

And then, just like that, all the anger rushed out of Chiara and was replaced by amusement. She chuckled at Buu's innocent inquiry and ran a hand through her now even more out of control hair.

"Yeah, Buu, I'll get you food," she said.

She took Buu's hand and led him off, followed by 17, Goten and Trunks. None of them spared Yamcha another glance. Another very large plate was filled up and Buu was once again happily munching away.

"Chi, can you help me get some food as well?" Goten asked.

"Haven't you had anything yet?" Chiara asked worriedly.

"Well, yeah, but…I'm still hungry," Goten said.

Chiara smiled softly, gently placing a hand on his covered head. "Okay, little man. I'll get you some food." She turned to Trunks, who was standing nearby. "What about you, Trunks? Can I get you anything?"

Trunks nodded and Chiara set about making two more plates of food. 17 had gone back to making Chiara's plate, so that she could eat after she was done helping the two boys. Sending the two Saiyans on their way with their food, she smiled at 17 when he presented her with a full plate of assorted foods.

"Thank you," she said, kissing him on the lips.

When she was finally sitting down and took the first bite, she had to suppress a blissful sigh. She really was hungry. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Yamcha had been helped inside by Tien and Krillin, and she mentally shrugged. It served him right.

When darkness started falling, everyone went inside. It was time to dance and drink. Chiara and 17 walked inside together, passing a now conscious Yamcha as they did so. Chiara heard Yamcha mutter something.

"What?" she snapped as she whirled around.

"Nothing," Yamcha sneered.

"Save the anger for training, runt," Vegeta warned before she could get worked up again.

Chiara complied and ignored Yamcha as she walked further in.

"Training I do hope won't be taking place tonight," Bulma said to Vegeta.

"Of course it will. A party's no excuse for slacking off on training," Vegeta said.

Bulma sighed exasperatedly. "Don't you think Chiara would prefer to relax right now?"

"The runt doesn't mind," Vegeta said simply.

Bulma shook her head. That man of hers was impossible. The tension was still tangible in the air and all he could think about was training.

_'Maybe music will smooth the ruffled feathers a little,' _she mused as she made her way to the stereo set.

She turned it on and smiled. "Let's boogie," she enthused.

Everybody started dancing, laughing and joking as they did so. The only ones that stayed in their seats were Vegeta, Chiara and Piccolo.

"Runt, aren't you dancing?" Vegeta asked.

"No," Chiara said simply. She didn't do dancing in front of that many people.

"Good, then we can train," Vegeta said, getting up.

Chiara nodded, searching for her backpack. She was presented with it by someone and when she looked up she saw 17 looking at her. She took the backpack and smiled at him.

"Mind if I watch you train?" he asked.

Chiara glanced at Vegeta, who nodded, and she smiled at her boyfriend. "Not at all."

"I'll come along as well," Piccolo said. "I've been meaning to come watch you train for some time."

Chiara nodded, knowing that if one person could watch, everyone could, so long as they didn't get in the way. She quickly changed in one of the many bathrooms and walked out in her more suitable shirt and pants.

"What do you think you are doing, young lady?" ChiChi asked as she saw her daughter. "Where is your dress?"

"In my backpack," Chiara said as she put the pack down. "Senpai and I are just gonna train."

"Now?" ChiChi demanded in disbelief. "We're at a party."

"I know, mom, but some things can't wait," Chiara said as she made her way to the door.

ChiChi watched her daughter go in disbelief.

"They're training?" Goten asked excitedly.

"Mom, can we go watch Chi and dad train?" Trunks asked.

Bulma scowled. "This is supposed to be a party."

"Yeah, but mom, we wanna see. Please," Trunks begged.

"Fine, go," Bulma said and Goten and Trunks were off.

It wasn't long before many of the others also decided to go watch the training and Bulma, ChiChi, Videl, 18 and Marron were left on their own.

Meanwhile, Chiara, 17 and Piccolo followed Vegeta as he walked to where they would train.

"Aren't we training in the gravity room?" Chiara asked as they passed it.

"It broke down this afternoon, and the woman hasn't fixed it yet," her Senpai said. "We'll train outside."

"It broke down, huh?" Piccolo said. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with that."

"It's not my fault the woman builds the thing too weak," Vegeta smirked as they reached an open area.

Over an hour later, ChiChi was still in a dark mood and the arrival of Son Goku did nothing to change that.

"Where's Chi?" Goku asked as he looked around. "For that matter, where is everyone else?"

ChiChi's face grew darker at that, but she said nothing.

"Outside. Chiara is training with Vegeta and everybody else is watching," Bulma said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I swear, those people have no concept of what having a party is."

Goku searched for the ki's of his daughter and fellow Saiyan and found them not far away, along with an assortment of others on the side. "Wauw, I can't believe I missed that when I came in."

"I told her she wasn't allowed to train today," ChiChi ground out. "But does she listen? No, let the silly old woman talk all she wants."

She stopped when she realized Goku was heading for the door.

"Son Goku, where are you going?" she yelled.

"I'm just gonna watch Vegeta and Chiara train," Goku said.

"Oh no you don't," ChiChi snapped. "It's bad enough that your daughter is out there training, instead of right here where she should be. It's bad enough everybody's out there. You are staying right here."

"But I wanna watch Chi train," Goku whined. "I haven't seen her train since…I don't even remember when."

ChiChi scowled for a moment longer, before she gave in. The party was finished anyway. She nodded and Goku smiled.

"Thanks, ChiChi," he said before running out.

He didn't need to follow their ki's to know where they were. The cheering and encouragement from friend and family was loud enough to let anyone know where they were. When Goku got there, he was treated to the breath-taking sight of a sparring session between two of the most powerful beings in the Universe.

He proudly watched as his daughter gave Vegeta everything he could handle and then some, and had to chuckle when he saw her cheat a few times. Teleporting was a handy trick, he knew that himself. Time passed, the contestants never seeming to get tired and the audience couldn't get enough. The training session ended when ChiChi and Bulma intervened, claiming it was time for Goten and Trunks to go to bed.

Chiara landed, smiling at the praise her family and friends gave her. Vegeta landed next to her, nodding shortly when he received the same praise.

"Runt, you did good," he said. "Try to be more focused next time. The distraction of an audience is no excuse."

Chiara nodded, proud that he thought she had done good and watched as he walked inside.

"That was amazing," Goku said as he reached his daughter's side. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank, dad," Chiara said, smiling as her father wrapped her in a hug. A hug she gladly returned.

"Yes, quite amazing," ChiChi said. "Now if you're quite done destroying the landscape, it's time to go home."

The Son family said their goodbyes and left. Upon arriving home, Chiara said goodbye to 17, who she would see again the next day. Goten was so hyper after seeing the training between Vegeta and Chiara that it took a while to settle him down but once he was calm, he was out like a light in seconds.

Taking care of her nightly routine of brushing and grooming, Chiara sighed as she laid her head down on her pillow at last. Another eventful day gone and done with. Maybe tomorrow would be boring.

_'Yeah,' _she thought as her eyes starting falling shut. _'Boring would be nice.'_


	64. Chapter 64: The Tournament: A Time to

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: Violence in the form of fighting and the use of the word 'HLL'. You have been warned.

General Note: The tournament is completely messed up and yes, I did that on purpose. Bacteria is actually from Dragonball but I thought he'd be an interesting opponent for Chiara. Captain Chicken is from the Other World Tournament, but he's funny so I wanted to use him.

Note for the chapter itself: Ouch, ouch, ouch. My inspiration has definitely failed me on this one. It's dull, it's bland, it's…the last chapter. It's not the last thing I'll ever write on this story. There are too many loose ends for that. Why can't Chiara touch the dragonballs? What happened in the seven years between the Cell saga and the Buu saga? What about the ten years between the Buu saga and the World Tournament saga? I'll be writing many more stories, trust me, but the main story is finished. After this chapter, there will be two more chapters that are not a part of the story. What will they be? Stay tuned and find out.

Additional note: Is the tournament rushed? Yeah, it is, but at least the chapter's long, so there are bound to be some good pieces, so…yeah.

World Tournament Saga :

_Chapter LXIV: The Tournament: A Time to Fight._

_785 A.D. May the 7th._

"Come on, kids," Chiara called. "Let's go."

"Alright, mom," a small voice called back before a young boy appeared at the top of the stairs.

The eldest of five children, Son Gyo was a wild-haired boy with dark, mischievous eyes. The six-year old boy made his way down the stairs, proudly wearing his new 'cool' headband. Chiara wasn't sure just how cool it really was, since Gohan had given it to him, but she let it go. He was only six, it didn't look dorky like it did on her brother, it looked cute.

She looked up the stairs again as her five-year old son, Cyan, made his way down the stairs, followed by four-year old twins, Gemmy and Glory. Chiara had to smile at the memory of finding out they were having twins. No one had been surprised, what with both Chiara and 17 being twins, but her mother had been over the moon, enthusing that twins were wonderful to have. They _were_ wonderful, just loud and a lot of work. They were adorable though. Black hair, not spiky, and blue eyes that could melt even the coldest of hearts. Even Vegeta couldn't always say no to them.

Surrounded by four of her children, Chiara waited for her husband to bring their youngest child down. She was just about to call out again when he appeared at the top of the stairs. Chiara felt her heart skip a beat, as it always did when she laid eyes on her husband, and smiled as he walked down the steps, a sleeping two-year old in his arms.

"Asleep already, huh?" Chiara said, running a gentle hand through Star's black hair.

"She fell asleep again while I was dressing her," 17 said, giving his tiny daughter a loving look.

Chiara smiled at that, giving Star's spiky hair a last fond tousle. Black spiky hair and dark eyes or black smooth hair with blue eyes. All her children looked like that, except for one. Chiara could look at all of her children and see exactly where each feature came from, except for one. Only Cyan had a feature Chiara couldn't place. He had the spiky hair of his mom, and the blue eyes of his dad, but he had red hair. Where on Earth did he get red hair from? Her mother had told her that there was no red hair in her family, and she didn't think Saiyans had red hair, so where had it come from?

_'One of the great mysteries of life,' _Chiara mused as she headed for the car, her children and husband having already piled in.

She got in and 17 started the car as she shushed her children.

"Once we get to the tournament grounds, there'll be nothing but noise all around us," Chiara said to them. "That means that once we get there, shouting and yelling will be acceptable. But not before."

"Yes, mommy," her children chorused. Well, the ones that were awake did.

"Besides, your sister should be allowed to sleep for a moment longer," Chiara said, looking at the still sleeping Star. "It's going to be a long day."

Upon arriving at the tournament grounds, they were enthusiastically greeted by their friends and family, some of them they hadn't seen in a while.

"Where are uncle Krillin's little cuties?" Krillin asked, smiling at the five children.

"Uncle Krilly," Gyo enthused, running to him.

Cyan scowled at the word 'cuties', as he always did, Gemmy and Glory joined Gyo in greeting Krillin, while Star merely sleepily rubbed her eyes. Chiara introduced her children to the people they didn't know yet, Piccolo being the biggest hit among them. Gyo and Cyan thought he was 'wicked', while Gemmy and Glory approached him carefully, though they were clearly fascinated by him. Star was the only one who stayed far away. Chiara picked her up when she tried to bury herself in the side of Chiara's leg.

"It's okay, sweetheart, he won't hurt you," Chiara soothed.

"But he's big," Star whispered.

"I know, baby, but he's a good man, not a bad one," Chiara whispered back.

Star nodded, but didn't look convinced so Chiara decided not to push it. She caught sight of her Senpai and, after making sure her other children were being watched, made her way over to him. Behind her she could hear Gyo showing off his new headband.

"Doesn't it look cool, grandpa?" she heard him enthuse.

"It does on you, little man," she heard her father say.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Gohan's indignant voice came and Chiara had to chuckle.

She reached her Senpai and bowed to him, Star still in her arms. Vegeta nodded in acknowledgement and looked at the small girl she was holding, the only one of her children he had yet to meet.

"Oh, yes," Chiara said. "Senpai, meet Star. Star, this is mommy's Senpai, Vegeta."

Star stared at Vegeta with wide eyes, and Vegeta stared back. Neither of them blinked or moved for a long while until Star suddenly giggled and all but threw herself at Vegeta, who caught her in his arms, a shocked and surprised look on his face. Chiara chuckled as she watched her youngest child cuddle up to the surly Saiyan, and Vegeta glared at his student. He winced when Star yanked on his hair.

"Why do they always go for the hair?" he asked irritably, referring to her older children's habit of yanking on 'uncle' Vegeta's hair.

"It's spiky, they seem to like that," Chiara said, still smiling.

"Let her pull her own hair then," Vegeta retorted.

Chiara chuckled again before relieving her teacher of his precious load, putting her down on the ground.

"Go to daddy, sweetheart," she whispered at her, gently tapping her backside.

Star ran off, still giggling. Chiara turned back to Vegeta, who was still scowling, this time with his arms crossed. Chiara surprised him again when she hugged him herself. Vegeta froze for a second before he wrapped his arms around her, patting her back awkwardly before dropping his arms again.

"Runt, you're too old for that sentimental stuff," Vegeta scolded as Chiara broke the hug.

"I know, I just missed you," Chiara said, smiling at him.

"If you weren't so busy with the brats, you wouldn't need to miss me," he pointed out.

"I have been very busy with them," Chiara conceded. "But now that they're getting older, I want to start training full-time again."

Vegeta was silent for a moment before nodding. "I'll be expecting you tomorrow."

Chiara smiled. "I'll be there," she said and she would be.

-----

The tournament they were having took place in the same place it had ten years ago, the same place it had been taking place in for many years. Hundreds of competitors came from all over the globe to compete in the tournament, to win the main prize: 10,000,000 zeni. The second prize was also good: 5,000,000 zeni.

As had happened in the tournament ten years earlier, the many contestants were brought down to only sixteen. Chiara, Vegeta, Goten, Trunks, Pan, Goku, Uub, Knocks, Bacteria, Mount Kekko, Buu, Captain Chicken, Catapy, Giran, Deacon and Omar Jones.

The first match was never a match as Vegeta knocked his opponent out before the match even took place, after the opponent in question called him 'old man'.

The second match was Son Goku versus a rather peculiar character called Captain Chicken. True to his name, he chickened out by pretending to hear the call of people in distress.

In the third match Little Pan defeated Mount Kekko, who as his name suggested was a mountain of a man, with one punch and one kick. A grueling match to be sure.

Goten was up next in the fourth match against Buu. Buu was strong but Goten was just a little bit stronger and a little bit faster and so he won the match.

Throughout these matches, Chiara's sons were sulking. She had told them from the beginning that they wouldn't be entering the tournament but apparently they had thought she would change her mind. She didn't and they weren't entered. Cyan insisted that he was strong enough and Gyo just kept saying it was unfair. Chiara would hear none of it and so they continued to sulk.

"They are strong," 17 said as Chiara watched Goten and Buu fight. "They can fight very well."

Chiara looked at her husband of seven years and nodded in agreement.

"I suppose so," she said, a frown crossing her brow. "But I stick by what I said, they're too young."

"Pan's only five," 17 pointed out.

"Pan's not our child," Chiara returned. "It's not our decision to make. If it was, she wouldn't have entered either. Our sons are not fighting in this tournament."

17 nodded understandingly. "Maybe next year, hm?"

Chiara went to say they would still too young next year, when she caught sight of the teasing smile on her husband's handsome face. She mock-glared at him and he chuckled as he took her into his arms, lovingly rubbing his nose against hers. They turned their attention back to the ring as Goten was announced as the winner of the match.

"I'm up next," Chiara said, kissing her husband before making her way to the arena floor.

Her first match was against a man called Bacteria, a foul-looking and even fouler-smelling man, who on top of this also looked decidedly dumb. She took a step closer to him only for the smell to knock her back again.

_'So that's how he wins his matches,' _she thought. _'By making sure his opponents can't go near him.'_

_'Pretty bad, huh?' _her twin sent through their link. _'He looks smelly even from here.'_

Chiara had to chuckle at that before going back to focusing on her match. She would have to ignore the smell. Maybe she could hold her breath. Or maybe…Her musings were interrupted when a huge fist thrust a small flower in her direction. She blinked at the flower and looked up to see that the hand holding it was attached to her opponent.

"Bacteria no fight pretty lady," he said, his face as red as a beet.

Chiara was stunned into silence and could do nothing but gingerly accept the flower, making sure not to touch him in any way. Bacteria then vacated the arena platform, losing him the match. The crowd was eating it up, thinking it cute, if slightly creepy.

Chiara vacated the platform herself after she was declared the winner, depositing the flower on a table, not quite able to find it in her to throw it away, before making her way back to her family and friends.

Goten and Trunks couldn't get enough of what just happened, with Goten hunching his back, deforming his face and limping around Chiara. "Bacteria no fight pretty lady," he grunted.

"Shut up," Chiara snapped angrily.

Goten and Trunks laughed again as Chiara was joined by her father.

"I don't know if I should be disgusted or happy," Chiara said. When Goku looked at her confused, she said, "Disgusted because _he_ has a crush on me, or happy because I didn't have to touch him."

Goku chuckled and put a muscular arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him. Goten continued to mock Chiara until Chiara slapped him upside the head.

He clutched his head, crying, "Ow, ow, ow." as Trunks laughed.

"Don't forget who you're talking to, young man," Chiara said. "You behave yourself."

"I will, I will," Goten assured, backing away. "Pretty lady."

Chiara growled but Goten was already running for it, followed by an apologetic Trunks. Chiara frowned and walked over to where Vegeta was standing.

"Senpai," Chiara greeted absently.

"Runt," he greeted. "Do you want me to kill him?"

"Who? Goten or the not so clean guy?" Chiara asked.

"Both if you want," Vegeta smirked.

Chiara chuckled and said, "Thanks for offering but I'm in a good mood, I'll spare both of them."

"You're too kind," Vegeta said, still smirking.

Chiara barely paid any attention as the next three matches took place. The only one she knew from the six contestants was Trunks, and he was facing someone far beneath him. In the end, Giran, Trunks and Uub won their matches and advanced to the next round.

The Quarter Finals began with a match between Goku and Vegeta, one of the most exciting matches any of them have ever witnessed to be sure. In the end, Goku was too strong for Vegeta, but Chiara was proud to call Vegeta her Senpai nonetheless. He was a tremendous fighter.

The next match was between Pan and Uub, with Uub coming out as the winner when he side-stepped one of Pan's attacks and she flew from the ring.

Chiara was up next against the dinosauric creature, Giran. She looked up at the huge being as he stood before her and raised an eyebrow.

"They just let anything into these tournaments nowadays, don't they?" she asked.

Giran's purple, scaly face turned red at this and he charged at her in a rage. He swung one giant paw at the smirking woman in front of him, only for him to suddenly be stopped in his tracks. He looked down and saw that his arm was caught in the tiny left hand of his opponent.

"Good effort," Chiara praised. "But not good enough I'm afraid."

She thumped him in the chest a single time, sending him sprawling out of the ring. She bowed to the crowd, who had only seen Giran fly from the ring, and then smiled at her family and friends, who _had_ seen her move.

"Go, mom," Gyo cried from where he stood, his call echoed by his siblings.

"Stylish," Trunks praised with a smile and Goten nodded.

"Nothing we didn't expect though," Goten added.

Chiara made her way back to the other contestants, which by then were only her father, Uub, Trunks and Goten. Goten didn't seem able to let go of the whole Bacteria thing as he once again mocked her for it. Chiara stared at her younger brother for a long moment, before turning to Trunks.

"No offense, Trunks, but I hope Goten wins," Chiara said.

"Aw, thanks, Chi," Goten said, pleased at his sister's words.

"I will take great pleasure in putting him in his place," Chiara continued.

Goten started at that. "Oh, come on, sis," he chuckled nervously. "It was just a joke."

"Ha…ha…ha," Chiara sneered, before softly adding, "Go, Goten. Go, Goten. I'll be waiting, bro."

Goten swallowed hard as he followed Trunks to the platform but in the end had nothing to worry about. Trunks had no intention of losing the match and managed to beat his best friend just fine, the same way he had ten years previous.

This outcome left four contestants and two matches. Goku vs. Uub. Chiara vs. Trunks. The first match between Goku and Uub was a surprisingly exciting one with Goku eventually winning the battle by a very narrow margin. Chiara was stunned, surely this Uub couldn't be that strong. She was even more stunned when Goku explained that Uub was the reincarnation of Majin Buu.

_'Imagine that,' _she thought. _'Nice kid though. Polite. Sweet too, taking care of his family like that.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when her match against Trunks was announced. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for a long match. She had seen Trunks fight before, he'd be tough to beat. And he was. The match was long and hard-fought but in the end, the stronger of the two won. Chiara offered the beaten Trunks a hand up and he gratefully took it.

"Great match, Trunks," Chiara said sincerely.

"Thanks, Chi," Trunks returned, a slight smile on his face even as his head throbbed.

The final match of the day was up not long after and Chiara wasn't sure she was up to it. She was still exhausted from her match against Trunks and didn't think she had the energy for another match, against her father of all people, the one person who was still stronger than her. She sighed as she tried to relax before the match would be announced. She _needed _to relax.

"Hey," her father greeted as he walked up. "Ready for our match?"

"Almost," Chiara said simply, still trying to loosen up.

"Well, just give it your all, I'm sure you'll do fine," Goku said, not knowing what else to say.

Chiara's face turned red at his words. "What? What do you think I am? Some kind of gumshoe rookie or something? I'll give it my all out there alright, and in a minute you'll see just how much that is."

Chiara walked away with her arms crossed and an angry frown on her face. Goku released a breath he hadn't known he was holding and chuckled nervously.

"My daughter's temper," Goku said, scratching his head. "Can't think where she got it from."

Chiara sighed exasperatedly as she walked away from her father. Now she was even more wound up than she had been before and relaxing was officially out of the question since her next and final match had just been announced.

She stomped her way to the tournament ground, holding on to her anger. Maybe that would help her get through the match. Goku quickly followed her and before long, they were face to face.

Goku stared at his daughter as she stood in front of him, a black haired woman who looked remarkably like him. There was a feral glint in her dark eyes, a glint that told him to get ready for anything.

The match that followed would go down in the tournament history books as one of the greatest of all time. Though a lot of it happened too quickly for most of the audience members to see, the fighting they did see was spectacular. Goku and Chiara were giving it everything they had and their family and friends were watching every second. In the end, Goku was too much for Chiara and he defeated her by throwing her from the platform and onto the ground. Goku smiled proudly at his daughter as he approached her, the cheering of the crowd nearly deafening.

"Hell of a match, dad," Chiara said, clutching her left arm to her body. "I hope you won't be offended if I say 'never again'."

Goku chuckled and took her into his arms, holding her for a long moment. Chiara felt weary to the bone, weary beyond what she had thought was possible. She felt the darkness creeping up on her and she didn't fight it. It didn't matter, she was safe.

When she woke up again, she was lying on a comfortable bed in one of the tournament infirmaries, surrounded by her family and friends. She moved slightly and encountered no pain and knew that a senzu bean had been applied.

Her husband was the first to hug her, her mother second, her father third and both her sons were fourth. They jumped on top of her, ignoring their grandmother's urging to be careful with their mommy. Chiara just held them to her, smiling as Gemmy, Glory and Star joined them, 17 sitting down next to her. She let her children's chatter wash over her and felt truly content. She had the five million zeni of the second prize and that was great, but what was more important was that she had her husband, her children, her family and her friends. They were what mattered the most and they always would be.


	65. Dragonball GT Pieces

Disclaimer: None of the things you recognize belong to me. DBZ and everything involved with it belongs to Akira Toriyama. Anything you don't recognize belongs to me.

Warnings for this chapter: The usual violence when there is fighting.

Note: I have never been a fan of Dragonball GT. To me it always seemed wrong. For one thing, my story would never allow Goku to leave for eight years and then suddenly come back. Chiara would kill him, no questions asked. For another I've always abhorred the dragon stories, how boring. However, I once felt different and I actually started writing some pieces of it. Not wanting those pieces to go to waste, I've decided to post pieces of Dragonball GT. Some things may not make sense because they're just pieces, but I'm sure that'll be okay. It's not much, really, but hey, you might enjoy it.

Dragonball GT Pieces:

_(793 A.D. Emperor Pilaf has appeared after a lengthy absence and accidentally makes a startling wish. Chiara's act towards her father is much the same as it was after the seven years he was gone after the Cell saga but far darker. This takes place on Dende's Look-Out._)

Out of nowhere, a dragon appeared, a dragon which turned out to be the darkstar dragon. Emperor Pilaf and his henchmen, Shao and Mai, also turned up.

"You," Shao yelled, spotting Goku.

"Are you...Pilaf?" Goku asked, looking at a small blue guy, before realizing that he was. "You are. It has been a long time."

"Who is he?" Pilaf asked, indicating Goku.

"He is Son Goku, lord Pilaf," Shao answered.

"Son Goku," Pilaf yelled. "Are you that Goku who kept us from achieving our gial for all these years?"

"Yes, that Son Goku," Mai confirmed. "And he looks even stronger now than the last time we saw him."

"What are you guys doing here?" Goku asked.

"Eh," Pilaf said, thinking fast. "Nothing really."

Pilaf attempted to whistle and Chiara, who was standing nearby, pulled up an eyebrow.

"Nothing indeed," Chiara said, drawing all attention to her.

"Who are you?" Pilaf yelled.

"None of your business," Chiara growled.

"I can make it my business if I want," Pilaf yelled, his small fists clenched. "Tell me who you are."

"And what are you going to do if I won't?" Chiara asked. "Bore me to death?"

Pilaf's face steadily turned red as Goku chuckled at that. Mai, who had been watching Chiara throughout the exchange, suddenly startled in realization.

"My lord," Mai said. "Look at the resemblance between Son Goku and the girl."

Pilaf did and suddenly realized. "So, you're one of his brats," he said to Chiara, indicating Goku.

Chiara scowled and changed the subject. "Why is the dragon here?"

Pilaf suddenly started sweating, trying to think of an excuse. "Curses," he yelled. "Get her."

Mai and Shao fired rockets at Chiara but she easily deflected said rockets back to them.

"How can this be?" Pilaf yelled as he watched it happen. "She's just a girl, and she should be just as easy to beat as Goku was when he was a kid."

Pilaf turned to Goku and yelled, "I wish you were a kid again so I could beat you up again."

"As you wish," the dragon's voice rumbled.

"What?" Pilaf shouted. "NO!"

But it was too late, a cloud of smoke was enveloping Son Goku as the wish was being granted. When the smoke cleared, a very small Son Goku was standing there. Dende and mr Popo exited the small building on the look-out to see what was going on.

"Goku?" Popo called.

"What was that?" Goku said, in an oddly child-like voice.

"What in the world?" Chiara whispered as she looked at her father.

"Go...Goku-san?" Dende said, hesitantly stepping closer.

"Your wish has been fulfilled," the dragon said. "Farewell."

The dragon disappeared and Pilaf looked on in disbelief.

"My wish was...to take over the world," Pilaf muttered to himself.

"Hey, I've been shrunk," Goku suddenly said.

Dende and mr Popo went on to converse with King Kai, asking him what they had to do. Goku was told that he would have to collect the darkstar dragonballs and summon the dragon to undo the damage done.

"What's the problem then?" Goku asked. "That sounds easy enough. But I don't mind having this body at all."

He yelped as he suddenly found himself being pulled off the ground by his now much smaller garb. Chiara scowled as she got into his face, holding him a good distance off the ground.

"You _wouldn't_ mind, would you?" Chiara snarled. "But have you bothered to think about what this will do to mom? Have you thought of her even once during the eight years you've been gone? It's bad enough you were gone for so long, and now this."

Dende pulled at Chiara's arm, trying to pull her away. Though much stronger than Dende, Chiara dropped Goku and allowed Dende to pull her away. She turned away from Goku in disgust and crossed her arms.

Mr Popo cleared his throat and said, "It's not that simple anyway. Normal dragonballs are scattered only within the planet where your wish came true. These dragonballs however, scatter all over the universe. From one end to the other. It is almost unthinkable that you could find them all."

"I see," Goku said. "Well, I'm fine with that. I have to go home anyway."

"Oh," Chiara all but yelled. "So you're just gonna pop in looking like that, are you?"

"Well...how else am I gonna pop in?" Goku asked hesitantly.

Chiara clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth, "And you don't think mom will have a heart-attack seeing you like this?"

"Nah," Goku said. "I'm sure it'll be okay, Chi. Don't worry."

Goku flew away, leaving Chiara to stare after him. Before anyone could say anything, Chiara also took off, following Goku.

"They're gone," mr Popo said needlessly.

"They don't understand how serious this is," King Kai said.

In the mean time, Goku was flying over the downtown area, Chiara right behind him.

"Hey," Goku said.

"Don't talk to me," Chiara snapped.

"But…why are you following me if you don't want me to talk to you?" Goku asked.

"I'm following you to make sure that I'm there when you finally see mom again, I'm thinking she's going to need someone to be there for her," Chiara said, not looking at him.

Goku nodded slightly. "Okay."

Goku and Chiara flew a little bit further until Chiara detected Pan's ki nearby. She went down, Goku following her curiously. They landed close to a bank and saw that a robbery was going on. Goku approached the bank but was met with Pan, who was too busy to notice Chiara standing nearby.

"What are you doing?" Pan asked Goku. "You can't just fight them, you're just a little kid."

Chiara chuckled softly at this.

"But…" Goku tried.

"Listen," Pan cut in. "You let this grown-up girl handle this, okay? Go back to your mom."

Pan proceeded to fight the bankrobbers and she easily knocked them all out, then walked back to her date.

"I'm ready now," Pan said with a smile. "Let's go see the movie."

"Well…uh…" her date stammered, obviously scared. "I just remembered I have something to take care of. See ya."

Pan's date ran off and she began to cry. "No…I've been dumped again," she sobbed softly.

A warm arm wrapped itself around her shoulder and she felt herself getting pulled into a very loving and very familiar embrace. Pan looked up and smiled through her tears.

"Aunt Chiara," she said, her voice breaking.

"Hey," Chiara said softly. "Never mind that dope, he's not worth it."

"Aunt Chiara?" Goku said from behind them but Chiara and Pan ignored him.

Pan nodded, trying to swallow her tears but they just kept coming. She sobbed and buried her face in Chiara's shoulder. Chiara held her tightly and soothed her.

"Hey, Chiara, Pan," a voice called from the crowd.

Chiara and Pan looked up and Pan wiped her tears away. Master Roshi was approaching them, walking through a group of younger women. Master Roshi, being who he was, had to touch each of them. Pan blushed with embarrassment, Chiara curled her lip up in disgust and Goku chuckled.

"It's really nice to come downtown every once in a while," Master Roshi said. "There are plenty of young gals to please my eyes."

"Master Roshi, please stop embarrassing me," Pan whined.

"And stop harassing innocent women," Chiara added.

"It's just a little recreation for an elderly man," Master Roshi protested.

"You never change, old man," Goku said to Roshi.

Roshi turned his attention to the small boy who had spoken to him and looked thoughtful.

"You look familiar to me," Roshi muttered.

"I'm Son Goku," Goku said.

Roshi was too busy staring at Chiara to fully hear what Goku said. He reached out towards Chiara backside only to be smacked upside the head by her.

"Hands off, old man," Chiara warned in a low voice.

Roshi backed up, chuckling nervously. Suddenly what Goku had said sank in.

"What?" Roshi said. "Son Goku? You're Goku. It is my Goku. My Goku is finally back."

"Yeah, finally," Chiara muttered sarcastically.

"No way, it can't be. There's no way that kid is my grandfather," Pan muttered to herself.

"But Goku, haven't you gotten a bit smaller?" Roshi asked.

"Oh, you noticed that did you?" Chiara snapped. "Some little blue guy wished him to be a kid again using the darkstar dragonballs, now he has to go find them to be able to turn back but apparently…" Chiara narrowed her eyes at her father. "…he's in no hurry to do so."

Goku put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously. Chiara growled and turned away.

"Anyway, is ChiChi doing alright?" Goku asked.

"Well," Roshi began "ChiChi is…"

"You can't be my Grandpa Goku," Pan suddenly cut in.

"Oh," Goku said. "Then you're my granddaughter, Pan? No wonder you're so strong."

"You mean you guys hadn't figured it out yet?" Roshi asked. "How could you not…?"

"Enough of this," Chiara snapped. "We're going to see mom now."

Chiara took off, closely followed by Pan. Goku shrugged apologetically at Roshi before following them.

At Goku's house, ChiChi cried as she was told what had happened. Videl, Gohan and Android 17 were also present besides ChiChi, Pan, Goku and Chiara. Chiara was sitting on a chair and 17 was standing behind her.

"You must have gone through a tough time, huh dad?" Gohan asked.

"Yes," Chiara said in a deceptively calm voice. "Why don't you tell us how hard things have been for you, _father_?"

17 placed a hand on his wife's shoulder as Gohan worriedly looked over at his twin, knowing that the calmness was just a facade but Goku was oblivious.

"Well, it really wasn't all that hard. Only everything looks so huge all of a sudden," Goku said. "It's kind of strange…"

"I am bigger than my grandfather," Pan muttered to herself. "This can not be right."

"As a human I already don't live as long as you do in the first place," ChiChi said to Goku. "This must be a conspiracy of yours."

"That's not true, ChiChi," Goku said.

"So dad, are you going to search for those dragonballs?" Gohan asked.

"Well, I don't know," Goku said.

"But wishing upon the darkstar dragonballs is the only way to return to normal, right?" Gohan asked.

"If this is not a conspiracy then what else can it be?" ChiChi asked, not acknowledging that the others had spoken.

Chiara threw a sympathetic look at her mother and sighed.

"Goku," King Kai's voice suddenly called. "Goku."

"Is that you, King Kai?" Goku asked.

"That's right," King Kai said. "I checked up on the darkstar dragonballs after you and Chiara left and found out about a very important secondary effect."

"Secondary effect?" Goku asked.

"The dragonballs must be reunited within one year from the day they are used, or the planet on which they were used will be destroyed," King Kai said.

"It can't be," Gohan cried. "So unless we find all of these dragonballs within the next year, the Earth will be…?"

"Completely destroyed," King Kai said.

The z-team looked startled at this as they realized they had no choice but to head into space to find the dragonballs. Pan was told that she wouldn't be allowed to come along and in an attempt to relieve some stress she beat up on Hercule's entire Martial Arts Class. Pan then challenged Hercule, but he complained of a bad cold and said he couldn't fight.

(_793 A.D. Upon landing on planet Imegga, planet of merchants, the team found out that Pan had stowed herself away on the ship. Trunks wanted to return Pan to Earth and went to grab the key to the spaceship but Pan took it. Trunks chased her around the spaceship until Pan dropped the key down her shirt and Trunks didn't dare go there._)

Chiara had her arms folded over her chest as they left the ship and Pan walked next to her.

"Aunt Chiara?" Pan ventured.

Chiara turned her head to Pan and looked at her questioningly as they kept walking.

"Are you angry with me?" Pan asked.

Chiara looked surprised. "Angry with you? Why would I be angry with you?"

"For being a stowaway," Pan said, looking down.

"Of course not, have you forgotten how I became a part of the Namek adventure?" Chiara asked.

A smile appeared on Pan's face as she realized. "You were a stowaway."

Chiara nodded with a smile. On planet Imegga, they encountered the greedy Don Kiaa, who was rich while the rest of the planet was poor. They ran into Rilld, who was guarding a small robot named Gill. Goku and Trunks fought Rilld until Chiara had enough.

"Enough," she snarled at Goku and Trunks. "You're wasting time."

"But Chi…" Goku began.

"No buts," Chiara snapped before powering up and fighting Rilld.

Chiara, Goku and Trunks killed Rilld together and the robot named Gill was freed. He told them that Dr. Myuu had built him but had abandoned him because of his lack of fighting skills.

"So what can you do?" Pan asked.

"Good question," Chiara said. "If you can't fight, there's no point in you coming along."

As it turned out Gill wasn't really good for anything, except causing trouble. He swallowed the dragonradar. Trunks, Pan and Goku chased the robot until Chiara teleported in front of the small machine and grabbed hold of it and punched the radar out of him.

(_793 A.D. On planet Kirubo, a monster named Dunama was plaguing a village. Godama, an elderly elf of the village, told them of the horror that Dunama caused. Dunama was able to create earthquakes. In order to get the dragonball of the village, the Z-warriors would have to defeat the best. Dunama demanded that a girl from the village marry him or he would cause an earthquake. Chiara took the place of the girl as the bride, though she was anything but happy about it._)

"But why me?" Chiara whined, for once not using her sarcasm and sharp tongue.

"Well who else can we use?" Pan asked, putting the veil on Chiara's head.

"I don't know," Chiara said, plucking at the dress she had on. "Anyone."

Pan shook her head and continued to get Chiara ready for the wedding. When the time came and Chiara had to go out to marry the monster, she struggled against Trunks, who was pushing her forward.

"I'm a married woman, I shouldn't be made to do this," she said.

Trunks and Pan shoved her forwards, ignoring her complaints. Chiara stopped complaining when she reached the altar. The 'wedding' went as planned and Chiara went with Dunama to his house. Once at Dunama's house, Chiara got him drunk and cut off his earthquake causing whiskers, only to find out that he couldn't cause earthquakes, only detect them. The z-team got the dragonball for keeping their promise but the dragonball was stolen by aliens.

"You get back here," Chiara yelled after them. "Do you know what I had to do to get that?"

(_793 A.D. On planet Beefay, after getting their dragonball back from the aliens, they were beset by paras. The paras put the z-warriors under a spell that caused them to dance. While under the influence of the spell, the z-team was unable to fight back and they got beat up pretty bad until Chiara lost it._)

She turned Super Saiyan and broke free from the spell, destroying the machine that played the music. She faced the shocked paras, her eyes flashing, her teeth bared and her fists clenched.

"You miserable weaklings," she snarled, making the paras back up. "Nobody humiliates me like this, do you hear me? Nobody. You will all pay for this."

Chiara beat up on the paras and would have killed them if Trunks hadn't turned Super Saiyan and grabbed her from behind. Not really able to stop her, he had to talk fast.

"Stop it, Chiara. There's no need for this," Trunks yelled.

Chiara barely heard him, she struggled against him and Trunks could feel her slipping.

"It's over," he yelled louder. "We won, now stop."

His words finally penetrating the haze Chiara was in, she saw the paras tied up and calmed down. She slipped out of her Super Saiyan state and apologized weakly for freaking out.

"Don't worry about it, aunt Chiara," Pan said with a smile. "We were all pretty mad."

Pan then went to look for the dragonball the paras had stolen on the paras' ship when it suddenly took off and went back to planet Lude.

(_793 A.D. Gill convinced Goku and Trunks to land on planet M2, his home planet. It was a trap. The two Saiyans met up with a group of strong robots who called themselves M2 commandos. After a short fight Goku and Trunks were captured and taken away. In order to save their comrades, Pan and Chiara disguised themselves as robots._).

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Chiara muttered as she put the disguise on. "First a bride, now a robot."

"You're married to a robot, aren't you?" Pan asked, fiddling with her own disguise.

"Android," Chiara corrected. "There's a difference."

"Well, don't worry aunt Chiara. It's only for a little while," Pan said.

(_793 A.D. After the dark star dragonball saga and Bebi saga, there was another World Tournament. Chiara and Goku were the only z-fighters to take part. Goku had to fight in the Children's tournament._)

Chiara beat Ubuu in the semi-finals and went on to face Hercule. Goku pleaded with Chiara to let him win.

Chiara gritted her teeth. _'To lose to a yahoo like Hercule, it doesn't bear thinking about', _she thought.

_'Hey, come on, Chi, that's my father-in-law you're talking about,' _Gohan joked through their mental link.

Chiara smiled. _'I suppose I can bear to lose then, to spare your father-in-law,' _she sent back.

Gohan smiled and Chiara sighed before she dropped the match to Hercule. Goku thanked her but she merely looked at him and walked off.

"You haven't talked to her yet, have you?" Gohan asked.

"No, not yet," Goku said, frowning as he watched his only daughter go. "I think I should though, and soon. I want my daughter back."

(_793 A.D. After the dragon saga, the Earth was safe once more, everyone was alive and Goku was back to normal. The title of this chapter would have been 'Promise me…Never Again.'_).

Goku smiled as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Everything was fine now.

"Dad," a soft voice said.

Goku opened his eyes and turned around to see his daughter standing there. Her clothes were torn, her eyes exhausted and her stance relaxed due to that exhaustion.

"Chi," Goku said softly, pride very evident in his voice.

Chiara smiled and walked forward. Goku opened his arms and Chiara stepped into them, her father wrapping his massive arms around her shoulders. None of the earlier antagonism matter anymore, they had simply been through too much. They hugged tightly as the rest of the team looked on with a smile.

"Dad?" Chiara asked, not breaking the embrace.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Goku said.

"You're not leaving again, are you?" Chiara asked very softly.

"No, Chi," Goku said. "I wont ever leave again, this time I'm staying."

"Promise?" she asked.

"I promise," Goku whispered into her hair.

"S'good," Chiara said, her words slurring. "Love you, daddy."

Goku's eyes closed, his heart swelling, when she called him 'daddy'. "I love you too, Chi," he said lovingly.

Gohan chuckled softly and the team turned questioning eyes to him.

"She's falling asleep," Gohan said, blinking as the sensation of sleeping crept through the mental link.

Goku looked down and found that Chiara had in fact fallen asleep. He gently picked her up, chuckling to himself. The rest of the team also laughed softly. Goku cradled Chiara in his arms and ChiChi stepped up to his side, lovingly touching her daughter's face. She then looked around and saw her entire family standing there.

"My family's complete," she said happily.

"Let's go home," Goku said.

The z-team left, each going their own way, each knowing they would see eachother again some day. Before Vegeta and Trunks headed back to the Capsule Corporation, Vegeta flew up to Goku, who was still holding Chiara.

Vegeta was reluctant to show too much affection in public so he shoved his hands in his pockets and just looked at the sleeping demi-saiyan for a moment before turning to Goku.

"Be proud of her, Kakkarot. I...I would be if she were mine," Vegeta said, before flying off after Trunks.

Goku stared after Vegeta before looking down at his daughter.

"I am proud, Vegeta," Goku whispered. "More proud than I could ever say."

The gang flew on until Android 17 suddenly blocked Goku's way.

"We're that way," Android 17 explained, pointing in the direction of his house.

Goku reluctantly handed Chiara over to him, but his reluctance disappeared when he saw the loving look Android 17 threw at Chiara. 17 cradled his wife and turned to his family through wedlock.

"We'll see you all soon," 17 said before flying off, his children right behind him.

The rest of the gang all went their own ways. Ubuu going back to his village, Gohan, Videl and Pan going to their house and Goku, Goten and ChiChi going to theirs.

Note: In my previous chapter, I promised _two_ more chapters. However, the last 'chapter' would merely contain the Powerlevels that apply throughout my story. I've decided I'm not happy with them and I won't be posting them. So this is the end of this story. I hope you all enjoyed it.


	66. Chapter 66: Author's Note

Just a note to inform those interested that I've posted a new Daughter of a Saiyan story. Hope you enjoy it! =D


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